{"id":65891,"date":"2026-04-28T09:43:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=65891"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:43:04","slug":"ethiopia-on-shortwave-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/ethiopia-on-shortwave-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia on Shortwave – Then and Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>by Dan Greenall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in the early 1970’s, Radio Voice of the Gospel, station ETLF, in Addis Ababa was the best way to hear this country, though it was by no means an everyday occurrence here in southern Ontario, Canada. Their distinctive drum interval signal was the first 4 notes of “A Mighty Fortress.” Or perhaps you would be lucky to hear “Elizabethan Serenade” being played prior to the start of their broadcast. Two recordings I have managed to save can be found at the Internet Archive here: https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/etlf-ethiopia-1971<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1977, the station was nationalized by the Provisional Military Governing Council of Ethiopia and renamed the Radio Voice of Revolutionary Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

Later, in the late 1990’s, a couple of Ethiopian stations could readily be heard thanks to their out of band frequencies. The Voice of Tigray Revolution used 5500 kHz and I recorded their signal on February 21, 1999<\/a> while at a DX Camp in Coe Hill, Ontario.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/voice-of-tigray-revolution\/voice%20of%20Tigray%20revolution.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

Radio Fana used 6940 kHz and I made a recording of them signing on<\/a> just prior to 0330 UTC also on February 21, 1999 while at the same DX Camp.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/radio-fana-ethiopia\/Radio%20Fana%20Ethiopia.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

Today, a few stations are still listed as broadcasting on shortwave from Ethiopia, namely Radio Oromiya on 6030, Amhara State Radio on 6090, and Radio Fana on 6110 kHz.<\/p>\n

When active, they all seem to suffer from low modulation levels and co-channel interference (primarily from Chinese stations). Recently, I was able to discover that Radio Fana is still using the same interval signal as they did in 1999, by listening on a Kiwi SDR in Mombasa, Kenya.
\nHere is a recording of their sign on at 0300 UTC on April 26, 2026 on 6110 kHz.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Fana-Media-Corporation-web888.mombasa-gokart.com_2026-04-26T02_56_19Z_6110.00_am.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

They now seem to ID as Fana Media Corporation, even though programming is not in English.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Listen at the 3:05 mark for this. Also, the modulation level jumps up significantly about the 3:28 mark.<\/p>\n

Additionally, I have included a recording of their sign off on April 1, 2026 beginning at 2053 UTC and concluding with the Ethiopian national anthem.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Radio-Fana-sign-off-21114.proxy_.kiwisdr.com_2026-04-01T20_53_35Z_6110.00_am.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dan Greenall Back in the early 1970’s, Radio Voice of the Gospel, station ETLF, in Addis Ababa was the best way to hear this country, though it was by no means an everyday occurrence here in southern Ontario, Canada. Their distinctive drum interval signal was the first 4 notes of “A Mighty Fortress.” Or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,305,288,7566,746,43],"tags":[10461,10271,4188,11098,11099,11100,5405,4091,1302,5649,11096,11097,4106,737,11095],"class_list":["post-65891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-radio-memories","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","tag-amhara-state-radioi","tag-dan-greenall","tag-ethiopia","tag-etlf","tag-fana-media-corporation","tag-fmc","tag-radio-fana","tag-radio-history","tag-radio-nostalgia","tag-radio-oromiya","tag-radio-voice-of-revolutionary-ethiopia","tag-radio-voice-of-the-gospel","tag-recordings","tag-shortwave-radio-recordings","tag-the-voice-of-tigray-revolution"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-h8L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20822,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/radio-fana-6110-khz-ethiopia-excellent-snr-with-elad-fdm-duo\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":0},"title":"Radio Fana 6110 kHz Ethiopia; excellent SNR with Elad FDM DUO","author":"Clint Gouveia","date":"August 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Elad FDM DUO makes for\u00a0a fantastic receiver, in both standalone mode and via the FDM-SW2 software. Thus far it has been demonstrating this by outperforming the Sony ICF-2001D in many of my reception tests\u00a0using an\u00a0experimental longwire antenna. Bear in mind that whilst this might not be such a surprise,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fanaza","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fanaza.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fanaza.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fanaza.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fanaza.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fanaza.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64341,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/algeria-on-shortwave-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":1},"title":"Algeria on Shortwave – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"October 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, for sharing the following guest post: Algeria on Shortwave - Then and Now by Dan Greenall In the early 1970s, Radiodiffusion-Television Algerienne ran a modest shortwave service (no English) mainly for North Africa, the Middle East,\u00a0and Europe. A copy of their schedule\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Greenall-Algeria-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Greenall-Algeria-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Greenall-Algeria-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Greenall-Algeria-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Greenall-Algeria-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63579,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/hcjb-quito-ecuador-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":2},"title":"HCJB Quito, Ecuador – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"August 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes: In the 1970s, the powerful signal from radio station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, in Quito, Ecuador, could be heard with station identifications (similar to this one circa 1971) being given between programs. I am led to believe that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65072,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/taiwan-on-shortwave-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":3},"title":"Taiwan on Shortwave \u2013 Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"January 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Greenall For nearly a half-century, The Voice of Free China broadcast programs via shortwave to a worldwide audience from Taipei, Taiwan. As a relatively new SWL in the early 1970\u2019s, I was always excited to hear English language programs from that part of the world, far away from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Voice-of-Free-China-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Voice-of-Free-China-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Voice-of-Free-China-QSL.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Voice-of-Free-China-QSL.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Voice-of-Free-China-QSL.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64213,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/the-90-metre-band-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":4},"title":"The 90 metre band – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"October 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post: The 90 metre band \u2013 Then and Now by Dan Greenall A few decades ago, the 90 metre shortwave broadcast band used to be full of interesting and challenging-to-hear DX signals. In the 1974 edition of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63399,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/the-voice-of-mongolia-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":65891,"position":5},"title":"The Voice of Mongolia – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"July 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes: The Voice of Mongolia from Ulaanbaatar was always tough to hear from my location in southern Ontario, Canada. Relatively quiet conditions and a clear frequency eventually allowed me to make a recording of their interval signal and bilingual identification (presumed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65896,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65891\/revisions\/65896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}