Everything is connected. Build your performance portfolio as you explore, engage and excel in various aspects of ham radio.

Generally, new hobbyists begin with an exploration of possibilities. Some have initial goals and are ready to engage immediately, but new ideas for activities generally emerge over time.

I find most of us follow a cycle I call “the four E’s”. We explore topics to find what interests us. Then, we engage in that topic, learning and doing. Not all areas are for us, though. Sometimes we excel. Other times, we step back and explore other areas. Most often, though, as we engage we are led to explore other subjects which support our activities.

And, of course, when we excel, we increase the changes of enjoying our efforts. But generally, we are always exploring, occasionally engaging, sometimes excelling, and so on. We explore many activities through some engagement. Not all lead to sustained engagement, and even fewer engagements lead to higher levels of proficiency.

To get the most enjoyment from technical projects, we will generally obtain some higher levels of expertise in the various knowledge and skills needed to excel and enjoy these ventures.

As we grow, each ham or electronics hobbyist will achieve a portfolio of activities or subject domains. We will excel in some areas and remain novices or beginners in others.

Performance Portfolio Synergy

We find important links and building blocks within our performance portfolio. For example, becoming proficient in writing code really helps you become an expert in working with microcontrollers. Sure, you can just copy other people’s code, but that’s not enough to make your Arduino projects really fly!

Sure, running simulations in LTSpice is useful, but if you are not proficient in Ohms Law and basic circuit analysis, you will reach you limits pretty quickly. On the other hand, running LTSpice will also help you learn more circuit analysis. It’s a two way street.

So, as you build your performance portfolio, consider how far you need to go in one subject domain to help you master another.