GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

GLOBAL
COMMUNICATIONS

WHO WE ARE......WHAT WE DO


1998 View of our driveway	1999 View of our antenna "farm"

GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS is a husband and wife team (MIKE and LAUREL KOHL) that lives in the rolling Wisconsin countryside, about one hour west of Madison. We specialize in providing equipment and advice for television and radio reception via satellite. You will not find DirecTV or DISH Network systems available here . . . with a little bit of effort, one should be able to find such equipment just about anywhere in the country. What separates us from the everyday merchants and installers of DBS satellite is that we literally take over where they leave off. We have the knowledge and ability to answer your technical questions on how to install and align one of those old fashioned Big Ugly Dishes (BUD). Need help on building a distribution system to interconnect multiple TV signals from several satellite receivers, VCRs, or your local off-air television and radio signals? Don't have a clue about what will be happening in your area with regard to digital or high definition (HDTV) broadcasting? Would you like straight answers on MPEG-2 digital reception, how to receive satellite signals in other parts of the world...or from other parts of the world---here in America? You have come to the right place for answers to these and other questions.


Winter 2001 view of antenna "farm"	June 2002 The "Tower" appears

Mike has over 30 years experience in the satellite industry. From multimillion dollar transmit and receive systems used by the military in the 1970s, to tomorrow's computer connection delivered via satellite, he has seen it all. Mike built 18 and 20-foot spherical antennas from angle iron, redwood strips and aluminum screen way back at the start of the 1980s, in Alaska. You needed a lot of signal to make up for the lousy electronics (by today's standards) and it was an even greater challenge making things work in an area as isolated from "civilization" as rural Alaska. This was the best school in the world; the school of hard knocks, and your mistakes were your teacher. There weren't too many people nearby to ask questions, so you learned by trial and error; sometimes the hard way. Add nearly five years in the high tech commercial environment of Southern California, and 7 years with a major antenna manufacturer; the total is quite a bit of experience from which to draw upon. Much of Mike's 1990s work was in Export sales and installation of satellite hardware, so there are few areas about satellite reception in which he cannot knowledgably converse. Following the sale of Orbitron in April 1999, Global Communications became a full-time venture, specializing in satellite reception techniques not-so-common to everyday users, and a source of equipment and advice in a sea of dwindling vendors and few knowledgeable salespersons.


September 2003	December 2003

Mike and Laurel started Global Communications as a small mail order business soon after they were married in 1994. Mike was Technical Director in the International Sales Department at Orbitron Antenna by day, and a seller of unique and sometimes unusual satellite equipment and widgets by night. This dual role was extended further by connection with the Internet, and a once-a-week technical talk hour on a show called Friday Night Live, with Gary Bourgois from Marquette, Michigan. The signal was available to anyone with a big dish system on an audio channel, and later streamed on the Internet. Mike had a regular show for eight or nine years (hard to keep exact track of time with these things), and at one time was also doing a second show for 35 minutes on Thursday nights with Dean Spratt from Minneapolis. Friday Night Live is now part of history, and Gary Bourgois has passed away (11-15-2005) from health problems.
Thursday Night Potpourri just ended, after January's unexpected death of Dean Spratt.
Listen to the WOKIE Radio Network on C-band 93 West, Transponder 1, 6.20 and 6.80 audio.
IF the owners of WOKIE wish me to continue the tradition, and have a moderator, we may do it again in the near future.


December 2004	December 2005

April 1999 was a rude awakening for us, when the Day Job disappeared without any warning. Orbitron's manufacturing facilities were bought out, and Mike's job was one of those eliminated. After getting over the initial shock of the situation, we started the wheels moving to develop the mail order business into something greater. We have made many connections since that fateful day, and are now committed to running Global Communications as a fulltime operation. It can be hectic at times, so if you have any non-urgent questions that can be answered by Email, please use that method to contact us on detailed situations. We try to man the phones, but may not always be available every minute of the day. So if you cannot reach a live body, leave a message on the answering machine at (608) 546-2523, or send a fax to (608) 546-2157. There's also Email. Our normal telephone business hours are 9am to 6pm Central time, Monday through Friday. Visitors are welcome, but please make an appointment in advance, in order to minimize scheduling conflicts. If we know that you are coming, time can be made to give you our undivided attention as much as possible.

We are still expanding the line of products that are carried by this company. This may sound insane at a time when many manufacturers are giving up on the large C-band satellite market, and most dealers are cursing their narrow existence selling and installing DBS systems. None of this is going away, despite the calls from some that The Sky Is Falling. What is really happening is evidence of a lack of commitment from some major manufacturers, as DBS systems increase in penetration of the marketplace. This is happening in various stages around the world, depending upon regional situations with various direct-broadcast companies. We have decided that when many people are giving up; now is the opportunity to become a one-stop shopping destination for hard to find satellite equipment. Some manufacturers are still interested in staying with the satellite industry, if they can just find the right niche markets in which to survive. Global Communications has attempted to identify certain niche markets and concentrate on them. We have allied ourselves with certain manufacturers and other sources, in order to provide a full-service line of products.
Once in a while we run into unbelievable deals on discontinued satellite equipment and pass on the savings via the "BARGAINS" section on our website. Items are available while that limited supply lasts.

Present antenna lines offered include certain offset Ku-band antennas from Primestar by Channel Master, Eagle-MSI and Paraclipse, new antennas from Patriot Antenna, Superior-SAMI, and True Focus from Andersen Manufacturing. Feedhorns are offered in the ADL, Astrotel, Pansat and Patriot brand names.
A wide variety of other satellite electronics and installation accessories are also available.

SOME OF THE THINGS WE CARRY:

***Large Antennas for C and Ku-Band Satellite Reception
***Antennas of All Sorts for DBS and Ku-Band Reception
***Multiple Satellite reception solutions from One antenna
***Hardware for Domestic and International reception
***Television & Audio Modulators, Video Senders and Other Distribution System Components
***MPEG-2 Free-to-Air Satellite Receivers and Accessories.
***MPEG-2 Systems, including our new High-Tech Hillbilly Cable Systems (just ask)
***High Quality custom cables and hardware
***U.S. Network reception solutions such as HDTV tuners

KNOWLEDGE AND PIECES TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER PLUS OTHER EXPERT ADVICE

GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
MIKE AND LAUREL KOHL
S-9141 STATE HIGHWAY 23
PLAIN, WI 53577-9612

E-MAIL: globalcm@mhtc.net OR info@global-cm.net

TELEPHONE (608) 546-2523 FAX (608) 546-2157

Telephone business hours are from 9 am to 6 pm Central Time, Monday through Friday.
24 hour access is provided through the availability of E-Mail and FAX reception.

Find us on the Worldwide Web at www.global-cm.net/