[fenbach]

fixr,
all the caps are new. the electrolytics are 10 uf compared to 8 originally. close enough, i have to think.
with a permanent magnet speaker i did not get a pop. i also tried turning the radio off in the dark [with the field coil in the circuit] and didn't see any arcing but only hear the popping sound maybe half the time, if that, with no apparent rhyme or reason.
i jiggled the tubes and even tried another 42. i poked everything with a wooden stick and found one solder connection that wasn't good. correcting that didn't seem to make a difference.
i also tried putting cap 43 and resistor 44 in series between the 2 electrolytic caps. apparently they were not used in later runs. anyway, the radio popped all the same with them in the circuit.
for what it's worth, i hear a similar popping sound when i connect or disconnect an antenna.
the radio is certainly useable. i probably won't spend much more time on it unless someone knows definitely what's amiss.
thanks for all the suggestions.