Thanks. OK, the diode and transistor idea sounds possible. The complication here is that getting electronic parts in small quantities here is difficult. I'm up against minimum order quantities if I mail order and my choice in town is The Source (by Circuit City), formerly Radio Shack. I checked their website and they seem to have a 6 amp diode and a selection handful of general purpose transistors. No reed switches alas.
I'm a computer guy, not a circuit designer. Chippie, could you give me a hint of what that transistor circuit would look like?
edit: I don't really trust their product specs, so I'd likely be better off to put 2 diodes in parallel. They won't share equally, but they will share .....