# Explanations — agent-authored answer rationales This document is the working contract for any AI agent (or human) asked to **add or improve explanations** for questions in the BNetzA amateur-radio catalog. The decks built by `amateurfunk_anki.py` optionally append an English explanation block to the back of each card; the text of those explanations lives in `explanations.json` at the repo root and is edited by hand (or by an agent following this file). The build is non-blocking on this data: a missing file or missing entry just produces a card without an explanation block. Adding an entry is purely additive — no regenerate ceremony beyond `make anki`. --- ## 1. File location and shape - **Path:** `explanations.json` at the repo root. Tracked in git. - **Encoding:** UTF-8, no BOM, two-space indent for readability. - **Top level:** a JSON object keyed by **question number** exactly as it appears in the catalog (e.g. `"NA101"`, `"BA205"`, `"EH410"`). Keys are case-sensitive. - **Sort order:** keep keys in alphabetical order. Diffs stay clean and merge conflicts get easier; the build does not care. ### Per-entry schema Every entry MUST have these four required fields, and MAY carry the one optional field below: | Field | Type | Constraint | |---------------|---------|--------------------------------------------| | `revision` | integer | `>= 1`. Starts at `1`, bumps on improvement | | `explanation` | string | Non-empty. **English.** Correct & helpful, WHY-focused | | `source` | string | Non-empty. URL or citation like `AFuV §16(2)` | | `confidence` | integer | `1..10` inclusive. See scale in §5 | | `provenance` | string | *Optional.* Only allowed value: `"50ohm-loesungsweg"` | `provenance` records **how the text was produced**, which `source` (a citation) does not. Set it to `"50ohm-loesungsweg"` only on entries that are genuinely a translation/condensation of a 50ohm.de worked solution (`contents/solutions/.md` in `DARC-e-V/50ohm-contents-dl`). The build uses it — and *not* the `source` domain — to decide whether to show the CC BY 4.0 derivative-work credit on the card (CC BY requires naming the author team and indicating modification). Do **not** add it just because an entry cites a 50ohm.de study page; merely citing a page is not a derivative work. Any other value, or any other extra field, is rejected by `load_explanations()` with `unknown fields [...]` / `provenance must be one of [...]`. The loader is also strict about types: a JSON `true` will not satisfy the integer contract for `revision` or `confidence`. To track other editorial metadata, propose a schema change rather than smuggling fields in. Top-level keys (the question numbers) must also match the catalog exactly. An entry keyed on a number that no live question carries (typo, stale ID after a catalog revision) fails the build with `explanation keys not present in the catalog: ...`. Fix the key, or remove the entry. ### Minimal example ```json { "NA101": { "revision": 1, "explanation": "100 m weighs 210 g, so 55 g is 55/210 of 100 m ≈ 26.2 m. Mass scales linearly with length for the same wire.", "source": "https://50ohm.de/lernen/wissen/elektrotechnik-mathematik", "confidence": 8 } } ``` The build appends this on the back card as a styled block headed **Explanation**, with the source rendered as a clickable link when it looks like an HTTP(S) URL. --- ## 2. How the explanation reaches the card `amateurfunk_anki.py` does the wiring; the agent does not need to modify Python code to ship a new explanation. End-to-end: 1. `load_explanations(./explanations.json)` parses the file and validates each entry against the schema above. A malformed entry is a hard build error. 2. While rendering a card, `render_question()` looks up the question's `number` in the dict. On a hit, `render_explanation()` produces an HTML block: header "Explanation", the body (with inline `$...$` LaTeX rewritten to MathJax `\(...\)`, same as the question text), and a "Source: ..." line. 3. The block lands inside `.af-back` at the very end, styled by the `.af-explanation*` CSS rules — serif body, sans-serif metadata, separated from the answer by a top border. When the entry's `confidence` is **below 7**, a small "low confidence" badge appears next to the **Explanation** header — a hint to the learner that the reasoning may be incomplete or weakly sourced. `revision` is never shown on the card. 4. The note GUID is keyed on `category.slug:number`, NOT on field content, so adding/changing an explanation does **not** create duplicate cards on re-import — Anki updates the existing note in place. Run `make anki` (or `python3 amateurfunk_anki.py`) after editing the file. The CLI summary line will show `... N with explanations` per deck. --- ## 3. Locating a question to explain Questions live in the JSON catalog under the per-edition data directory: ``` data//fragenkatalog.json ``` To find one by number, e.g. `EH410`: ```sh python3 -c ' import json, glob for path in glob.glob("data/*/fragenkatalog*.json"): cat = json.load(open(path)) def walk(node, prefix=()): for q in node.get("questions", []) or []: if q["number"] == "EH410": print(json.dumps(q, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)) print(" / ".join(prefix)) for s in node.get("sections", []) or []: walk(s, prefix + (s.get("title", "?"),)) walk(cat) ' ``` You get the question stem, the four answers (`answer_a` is the **correct** one upstream; the deck shuffles before display), the class digit (`"1"` = N, `"2"` = E, `"3"` = A), and the section path. That path tells you the topic context — useful when choosing a source citation. --- ## 4. Writing the explanation ### Style - **Language: English.** The questions and answers stay in German on the card; the explanation is the one English element. Don't switch. - **Correct and helpful first; length follows the topic.** There is no sentence cap. Use as much room as the question genuinely needs — a one-line arithmetic restatement for a simple lookup, a full worked derivation or a multi-step rule walkthrough where that is what makes the answer *click*. Don't pad: every sentence should earn its place by adding correctness, context, or a usable hook. The card already shows the question, the correct answer text, and the breadcrumb — the explanation adds the missing *why* and the understanding needed to get there, not a restatement of those. - **Lead with the reasoning.** Don't open with "The correct answer is X because..." — the card already declares the correct answer one line above. Go straight to the principle, the formula, the rule of thumb. - **Math.** Use inline `$...$`; it's rewritten to MathJax on the card, same as for question text. Don't use display math `$$...$$` (the deck has no MathJax support for those). Getting the *inside* of `$...$` right is its own discipline — see **§4a Math typesetting** below. This is the single most error-prone part of this file. - **Inline emphasis.** `...` is the only HTML you should type by hand. Everything else gets HTML-escaped. - **No spoilers about other answers.** If a distractor is a common trap, naming the trap is fine; quoting the distractor's text is noise. ### 4a. Math typesetting (MathJax) — get this right Everything between `$...$` is TeX. MathJax renders **bare multi-letter runs as a product of italic variables**, so `ohm` shows as *o·h·m*, `log10` as *l·o·g·10*, `P_{PEP}` as *P·(P·E·P)*. A whole multi-round review on this repo was spent fixing exactly these. The rules below are the checklist; wrong → right. **Units** — never leave a unit as bare letters; wrap in `\text{}` (or use the symbol) and put a thin space `\,` after the number: | Wrong (in `$...$`) | Right | |---|---| | `0.01 ohm`, `10 kOhm`, `5 MOhm` | `0.01\,\Omega`, `10\,\text{k}\Omega`, `5\,\text{M}\Omega` | | `3 microhenry`, `3 uH` | `3\,\mu\text{H}` | | `1 uF`, `100 nF`, `47 pF` | `1\,\mu\text{F}`, `100\,\text{nF}`, `47\,\text{pF}` | | `5 mA`, `2 mV`, `1 kHz`, `28 MHz` | `5\,\text{mA}`, `2\,\text{mV}`, `1\,\text{kHz}`, `28\,\text{MHz}` | | `12 dB`, `8 dBi`, `46.8 bit/s` | `12\,\text{dB}`, `8\,\text{dBi}`, `46.8\,\text{bit/s}` | | `5 mm2`, `2.5 A/mm2` | `5\,\text{mm}^2`, `2.5\,\text{A/mm}^2` | | `360 degrees`, `45°` | `360^\circ`, `45^\circ` | | `20 A`, `12 V`, `100 W`, `5 m`, `50 s` | `20\,\text{A}`, `12\,\text{V}`, `100\,\text{W}`, `5\,\text{m}`, `50\,\text{s}` | **Operators, functions, Greek, powers:** | Wrong | Right | Why | |---|---|---| | `log10(x)` | `\log_{10}(x)` | bare `log` is *l·o·g* | | `10^(20/10)` | `10^{20/10}` | `^(` superscripts only the `(`; braces group | | `lambda`, `pi`, `tau`, `omega`, `rho`, `mu` | `\lambda`, `\pi`, `\tau`, … | bare = italic letters | | `sin`, `cos`, `ln` | `\sin`, `\cos`, `\ln` | | | `2 x 3`, `R1 || R2` | `2 \cdot 3`, `R_1 \parallel R_2` | `x`/`||` are not operators | | `62.5%` | `62.5\%` | **bare `%` is a TeX comment — it silently eats the rest of the math** | | `4,200,000` | `4{,}200{,}000` | bare `,` gets TeX punctuation spacing | **Subscripts.** Descriptive multi-letter labels/acronyms are roman; a single-letter subscript stays italic: | Wrong | Right | |---|---| | `P_{EIRP}`, `U_{peak}`, `f_{mod}`, `V_{BE}`, `f_{sum}` | `P_\mathrm{EIRP}`, `U_\mathrm{peak}`, `f_\mathrm{mod}`, `V_\mathrm{BE}`, `f_\mathrm{sum}` | | `R1/R2 = R3/R4` | `R_1/R_2 = R_3/R_4` | | keep italic: `U_F`, `f_c`, `X_C`, `R_g` | (single letter = variable, leave as-is) | A standalone acronym used as a variable (e.g. `MUF` on a formula's LHS) also goes roman: `\mathrm{MUF}`. **Dimensional constants keep their unit.** The field-strength constant is `30\,\Omega`, so write `\sqrt{30\,\Omega \cdot P_\mathrm{EIRP}}` and `(E\cdot d)^2/(30\,\Omega)`, not a bare `30`. Same idea for the dB-level exponent: `10^{g/(10\,\text{dB})}` (the `(...)` groups the denominator — `10^{g/10\,\text{dB}}` parses as `(g/10)·dB`). **Unit vs. variable — don't blindly unit-ize a single letter.** `A` is amperes in `20 A` but *area* in `N^2 A/l`; `s`/`m` are seconds/metres in `50 s` / `5 m` but could be variables elsewhere. The tell: a *free-standing number* immediately before the letter (`20 A`) means a unit; an exponent base (`N^2 A`) or a symbolic factor (`S \cdot A`) means a variable. When unsure, read the sentence. **What stays prose — do NOT force into `$...$`:** - Band/wavelength designations: `5/8-wave`, `20/15/10 m trap dipole`, `the 80 m band`. - Conceptual word-equations: `1st overtone = 2nd harmonic`, `Region 1 = Europe/Africa`. - Units mentioned adjectivally in a sentence: "a 50 ohm antenna", "the 28 V/m limit", "about 11.7 V/m". But a **worked computation with an `=`** (e.g. `230 V / 20 = 11.5 V`) belongs in `$...$`, fully typeset. ### Verifying it — the process lessons These review rounds kept finding *peers* of an already-fixed defect. Avoid the repeat: 1. **Fix the whole record, not a substring.** The same formula usually appears in *both* the explanation body *and* the `Hilfsmittel:` note. Search the entire entry and fix every occurrence. 2. **Fix the whole class, file-wide — not just the IDs someone listed.** If `P_{EIRP}` is wrong in one card it is wrong in twenty; sweep the whole file for the pattern. 3. **Verify with a positive sweep, not a blacklist.** A list of known-bad tokens always misses a new category (it missed `degrees`, `bit`, `||`, bare seconds…). Instead: strip `\text{}`/`\mathrm{}` and the known macros, then flag *every remaining* ≥2-letter run inside `$...$` — each survivor must be a deliberate variable product (`LC`, `jX`, `RC`, `di/dt`) or it's a bug. 4. **Don't claim "0 / exhaustive" unless the check actually covers that category.** Report what you checked, not a blanket adjective. A ready-made sweep: ```sh python3 -c ' import json, re d = json.load(open("explanations.json")) span = re.compile(r"\$[^$]*\$") def strip(s): s = re.sub(r"\\(?:text|mathrm|operatorname)\{[^{}]*\}", " ", s) return re.sub(r"\\[A-Za-z]+", " ", s) # drop macros (\sqrt, \pi, \cdot, ...) for k, e in d.items(): ex = e["explanation"] if isinstance(e, dict) else "" if ex.count("$") % 2 or ex.count("{") != ex.count("}"): print("BALANCE", k) for m in span.finditer(ex): s = m.group(0) if re.search(r"(?Hilfsmittel: ``` Rules — this is the part that was historically done badly (generic boilerplate stamped on everything), so be strict: - **Only cite what is actually in the sheet.** Verify against `references/Hilfsmittel.md`. If the fact the question turns on is a memory item — diode forward voltages (~0.6 V / ~0.3 V), `tan δ = 1/Q`, S-meter step = 6 dB, harmonics = n × fundamental, ppm/percent arithmetic, semiconductor behaviour, definitions, antenna length/shortening factors — **do not add a Hilfsmittel note at all.** - **Name the specific formula(s) or table, and the page.** Not "the formula is in the Formelsammlung" but e.g. `P = U²/R (Leistung, S.12)` or `the Widerstands-Farbcode table (S.11)`. - **For multi-step calculations, give the order:** "first `U_eff = Û/√2` (Wechselspannung, S.12), then `P = U_eff²/R` (Leistung, S.12)". State plainly when a value comes from outside the sheet (e.g. a diode drop) versus from a sheet formula. - **For a pure table lookup**, say it is a lookup and cite the table + page (e.g. "a table lookup, not a memory item — the band limits … are in the Frequenzbereichszuweisung (Anlage 1, Tabellarische Übersicht, S. 2–3)"). - **Page numbering:** the printed page number = PDF page − 2 (the cover and the "Hinweis" page are unnumbered). Always cite the printed number, as `references/Hilfsmittel.md` does. --- ## 5. Confidence scale | Score | Meaning | |------:|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10 | Direct quote / arithmetic restatement from a primary legal source. | | 8–9 | Derivation from a well-known formula or law text; no ambiguity. | | 6–7 | Reasoning sound but condensed; a reviewer might want one more line. | | 4–5 | Educated guess based on context; corroborating source is weak. | | 1–3 | Best-effort placeholder. Flag for re-explanation. | When in doubt, score lower. The query "explain everything below confidence 7" is a real workflow — a too-generous score hides work that should be redone. The score is also capped by the source tier — see §6 "Source ↔ confidence linkage". A tier-8 (general web) source caps confidence at 5 regardless of how persuasive the prose is. **Card surface.** Confidence below 7 also surfaces a "low confidence" badge on the card itself (see §2). This is deliberate: the learner sees that the explanation is provisional rather than trusting it as definitive. Scoring 7 turns the badge off, so do not nudge a 6 to a 7 just to clear the badge — fix the explanation or the source first. --- ## 6. Sources Use the **strictest tier that actually answers the question**. Drop down a tier only when the higher one doesn't cover the topic — never because a lower-tier source is easier to find. The exam tests knowledge of German law and BNetzA-curated material; a primary-law question backed by a random tutorial site is a worse explanation than no explanation at all. The full priority order, top (most preferred) to bottom: 1. **Primary German law.** - AFuG (Amateurfunkgesetz), AFuV (Amateurfunkverordnung), BEMFV, TKG when applicable, plus frequency-allocation ordinances (vfg / VVnömL). - Canonical URL pattern: `https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de//__<§>.html`. Cite as `AFuV §16(2)` style. Use the URL form when possible so the card link is clickable. - If a question's answer is fixed by German law, **no lower tier is acceptable** as the sole source. 2. **EU / international regulation binding on Germany.** - CEPT recommendations (T/R 61-01, T/R 61-02), ITU Radio Regulations, ECC decisions, EU EMC / RED directives. - Use `docdb.cept.org/...` or the ITU document portal as the canonical URL. - Reach for this tier when the question references CEPT licensing, foreign operation, or harmonised band plans that AFuV doesn't restate. 3. **BNetzA official publications.** - The question catalog's own `README.txt`, BNetzA "Vfg" announcements, the German band plan as published by BNetzA, official explanatory notes. - Useful when primary law is too terse to convey the *why* on its own — these are the regulator's own gloss on the law. - Do not cite the question catalog PDF/ZIP itself as an explanation source. It proves what the official answer is, but it usually does not explain why that answer is right. Use a law, regulation, BNetzA notice, DARC/50ohm study page, standard, or other source that actually supports the explanation. 4. **German amateur-radio organisations.** - DARC publications and band plan (`darc.de`), Runder Tisch Amateurfunk (RTA) papers, **50ohm.de** (the community study site linked from `README.md`). - Exam-aligned by community convention; well-suited to the WHY when law text alone isn't pedagogically clear. 5. **International amateur-radio organisations.** - IARU Region 1 documents (Germany is in R1) and DARC's IARU R1 liaison material; ARRL publications when they explain the underlying physics or an internationally harmonised band plan. - ARRL is **not** a source for German licensing rules — don't use it that way. 6. **Standards bodies and primary technical references.** - NIST, IEEE, IEC, ITU-R recommendations, ETSI standards (when not already binding via tier 2). - Appropriate for purely technical questions — units, defining equations, definitions — where no amateur-radio-specific source applies. 7. **Established engineering references.** - University lecture notes hosted by the university, recognised EE textbook publishers, well-known authors' personal sites. - Use only when tiers 1–6 don't cover the topic. 8. **General web technical sites — last resort.** - Wikipedia, tutorial sites (`allaboutcircuits.com`, `amateur-radio-wiki.net`, `biopac.com`, etc.), random manufacturer pages, blog posts. - **Treat citations at this tier as temporary.** Score `confidence` ≤ 5 and consider the entry a §8.3 candidate for re-sourcing the moment a higher-tier source is identified. Never use a tier-8 source as the sole citation for a question that has a clear answer in tiers 1–4. ### Source ↔ confidence linkage The §5 confidence scale isn't independent of the tier: - Tier 1–2 + sound derivation → 9–10 is appropriate. - Tier 3–4 → cap at 8 unless the source quotes a primary citation. - Tier 5–6 → cap at 7. - Tier 7 → cap at 6. - Tier 8 (sole source) → cap at 5. Flag for re-sourcing. This isn't a hard limit the validator enforces — it's editorial discipline. If you find yourself wanting confidence 9 with a tier-7 source, you almost always either (a) need to find the tier-1–4 source that backs the same claim, or (b) are about to overstate certainty. ### Form If the source is a URL, store it as one — `_source_html()` makes plain `http://` / `https://` strings clickable. Mixed text+URL sources are stored verbatim and rendered as escaped text (no auto link), so prefer one or the other. A short citation like `AFuV §16(2), gesetze-im-internet.de/afuv_2005/__16.html` is acceptable but loses click-through. When possible, narrow the source to a single canonical URL. --- ## 7. Revisions `revision` is editorial bookkeeping; it never appears on the card. - A brand-new entry starts at `revision: 1`. - **Bump** when you materially improve the explanation, broaden the source, or fix an error. A typo fix is not a revision bump. - Don't lower the revision. If a previous revision was wrong, fix it forward and explain the fix in the commit message. - A revision bump usually pairs with a confidence bump (or, more rarely, with a deliberate confidence reset to indicate the reviewer is less sure than the prior author was). --- ## 8. Workflows These are the common ways the file gets edited. The agent should read the request and pick one. ### 8.1 "Explain question X" 1. Look up X in the catalog (§3) — read the stem, the correct answer (`answer_a` upstream), and the section path. 2. Identify *why* the correct answer is correct. Reach for a primary source before paraphrasing 50ohm.de. 3. Draft the body per §4, pick a source per §6, score honestly per §5. 4. Open `explanations.json`, insert the new entry in **alphabetical key order**, save. 5. Run `python3 -m unittest test_amateurfunk_anki` — the schema validator runs as part of the build path used by tests, so a typo'd entry fails fast. 6. Rebuild decks (`make anki`) and spot-check the new entry on the back of the card. ### 8.2 "Explain every question that doesn't have an entry yet" This is bulk work — handle it in chunks, not as one giant batch. 1. Compute the unexplained set: ```sh python3 -c ' import json, glob catalog = next(iter(glob.glob("data/*/fragenkatalog*.json"))) exp = json.load(open("explanations.json")) def walk(n): for q in n.get("questions", []) or []: yield q["number"] for s in n.get("sections", []) or []: yield from walk(s) missing = sorted(set(walk(json.load(open(catalog)))) - exp.keys()) print(len(missing), "questions unexplained") print("\n".join(missing[:20])) ' ``` 2. Process in groups of ~10 within one topic. Same section path often shares one source citation, so context stays warm and confidence scores stay consistent. 3. After each group, save and run the tests. Don't accumulate hundreds of unsaved entries. ### 8.3 "Improve all entries with confidence below N" 1. List low-confidence entries: ```sh python3 -c ' import json exp = json.load(open("explanations.json")) for k, v in sorted(exp.items()): if v["confidence"] < 7: print(k, v["confidence"], "—", v["source"]) ' ``` 2. For each, look up the question (§3), seek a stronger source (§6), rewrite if the new source changes the framing. 3. **Bump `revision`** and update `confidence` to reflect the new evidence. Do not just bump confidence without changing anything else — that's how bad explanations entrench themselves. ### 8.4 "This explanation is wrong" 1. Read the current entry. Confirm the error against the catalog stem and the cited source. 2. Rewrite the body, replace the source if needed, bump `revision`, and re-score `confidence` from scratch (don't carry over the prior score). 3. Commit message should name the question number and summarize what was wrong — future agents need to know what kind of mistake to look for elsewhere. --- ## 9. Validation checklist Before saving, confirm: - [ ] Key is the exact catalog `number` (case-sensitive). - [ ] All four fields present, correct types, in range. - [ ] `explanation` is English, correct, helpful, WHY-focused — as long as the topic needs, no longer. - [ ] `source` is non-empty and as primary as possible. - [ ] `revision` is correct (1 for new, bumped for improvement). - [ ] `confidence` honestly reflects how well the source supports the explanation. - [ ] Keys remain in alphabetical order in the file. - [ ] **Math typesetting (§4a):** every formula is in `$...$`; units are `\text{}`/symbols with a leading `\,`; no bare `log10`, `10^(`, Greek words, `%`, `||`, multi-letter `_{...}` subscripts, or raw thousands commas; dimensional constants keep their unit. Fix every occurrence in **both** the body and the `Hilfsmittel:` note. - [ ] The §4a verification sweep prints nothing unexpected (run it after any batch of math edits — don't trust a per-ID fix to have caught the peers). - [ ] `python3 -m unittest test_amateurfunk_anki` passes. (The full deck suite is `test_amateurfunk_fetch test_amateurfunk_anki test_amateurfunk_shorthand test_amateurfunk_technical` — 95 tests; the two-module subset that validates explanation schema is 65.) --- ## 10. What's out of scope here - **Translating questions into English.** The cards are bilingual by design: German question + English explanation. Don't paraphrase the German. - **Editing the catalog itself.** `data/` is a build artifact — refreshed by `amateurfunk_fetch.py` from BNetzA. Mistakes in the upstream questions are upstream's to fix. - **Removing explanations.** If an entry is genuinely useless, fix it forward (§8.4). Don't delete keys — that loses the audit trail. (The schema doesn't currently encode "retracted", so if you ever need it, propose a schema change.)