well shucks!
the hall sensors I ordered are both the wrong kind - I should have read the datasheet a bit closer! They're both latching type switches - toggle ON or OFF when the field reverses, not when it disspates.
Mouser only stocks "DIODES INC" brand hall sensors
and they're sold out of the non latching variety, back ordered since Mar 2007!
I also ordered some mercury free mercury switches, but they're far too sensitive ... they have a little steel ball trapped inside, and it just brushes up on some contacts depending on orientation. I had figured I could orient one such that g-force would pull the ball into the contacts when the wand was traveling in one direction, and force the ball away from the contacts while traveling in the other. what I got was tons of switch bounce, apparently they don't like vigorous shaking.
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