[160m] Working DX on 160 during the warmer months

[Mike Waters]

I know there's diehards on Topband in the northern hemisphere that
work 160 all year. I would like to know what they do to hear the weak
ones in the southern hemisphere, in spite of the static crashes in
North America's spring and summer.

(I was once a weak signal "diehard" on the low end of 2 meters
[SSB/CW], and I plan on putting that same effort into DXing on 160).

I'm still in the process of improving my 160 station here. I have 580'
Beverages, and they hear DX very well in the winter. However, I've
found that they also can hear the lightning QRN very well in the
spring, too. :-(

I have an MFJ-1025, which I was thinking of using to try and reduce
the QRN from distant lightning storms in North America, hoping to hear
weak DX. Perhaps use the Inverted-L Tx antenna as the noise antenna,
and the Beverages as the signal antennas, input to the MFJ-1025?
However, what I've read seems to imply that that would be a waste of
time. (Would it?)

Or, are staggered and phased Beverages/BOGs a better way? Or, does one
simply wait for good conditions? Perhaps summertime could use a
different RX antenna than the Beverage. Maybe not.

Are we just going through a period of bad spring QRN, and it will get
better in the summer?

I would sure appreciate any advice and encouragement. I love 160, and
I don't plan on simply waiting till November's quiet time and working
other bands until then.

73 Mike
W0BTU