I just bought a Norman series 500 power system to replace my old
series 450 equipment.  I fired the series 450 with a photocell trigger
and a miniature on-shoe flash.  The trigger has a two-blade plug, and
it won't work with the new power pack, which has a 1/4" jack.

I can buy a replacement for the trigger for about $35, but I wonder
whether I would be better off with an infrared or FM radio trigger.
I'm using the on-shoe flash only as a trigger (not as a light source),
and it's less than ideal because I sometimes have trouble pointing it
where it won't create nasty reflections.

A. "real" IR/FM trigger is out of my price range, but there are
inexpensive ones for sale on eBay.  Here are a couple of examples:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Radio-Slave-Wireless-Remote-Flash-Trigger-Studio-T1A_W0QQite
mZ200164596969QQihZ010QQcategoryZ30087QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/IR-Sender-Studio-Flash-Trigger-Wireless-New_W0QQitemZ1801709
39753QQihZ008QQcategoryZ30086QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't expect these gadgets to have the quality of name brand
products that sell for hundreds of dollars, but I wonder whether they
are good enough to work reliably in a light-duty studio situation.
Has anyone had experience with them?  Any advice?