Data Vendor and Charting

Thunderdog · Oct 7, 2003

I would appreciate any guidance that you can provide on the following matter.

Presently, I am using QCharts. Lately, I have been running into data issues which simple workarounds like the Ctrl+Alt+N feature, used to switch servers, do not improve the problem. I know that the problem exists because there is frequently a sizeable disparity between my J-Trader streaming data and the QChart chart, with the chart sometimes lagging by several seconds. Therefore, I am looking into changing data vendors. I have tried a few other vendors in the past including the much more expensive FutureSource Pro, however, I found the other software products much "clunkier" and less "intuitive" than QCharts.

I have heard good things about eSignal regarding data quality and I understand that their software has gotten more user-friendly of late. However, they only have back data on an intraday basis going back 60 days. This is hardly sufficient for anyone wishing to backtest a fresh idea.

I have also heard of Nextrend, which has intraday data going back to 1998, however, I do not know how reliable the data quality is.

Your input on either of these packages or any others would be much appreciated. As an aside, I only trade the Mini S&P using 1-minute charts.

Regards,

Thunderdog

rtstrading · Oct 7, 2003

eSignal will have 6+ months in a few weeks and that will climb to 2 years with time.

Bob

Thunderdog · Oct 10, 2003

Quote from rtstrading:

eSignal will have 6+ months in a few weeks and that will climb to 2 years with time.

Bob

Bob,

Thank you. The soon-to-be available 6 months of intraday historical data (and the 2 years' data that will follow in due course) tipped the scale for me. The folks at eSignal confirmed what you said, and I am now a subscriber. Indeed, the data is very good. I find that the eSignal software is a bit "clunkier" and less "intuitive" than that of QCharts, however, that is a small price to pay for reliable data.

I have been using QCharts since 1999. Although the data was "usually" fairly reliable, I found that the increasing lapses were unacceptable for very short-term trading. Even the available corrective measures have recently begun to lose their effectiveness. Looking at both my broker's streaming data and the QCharts screen, I often felt that I was driving in snow with worn summer tires. Too bad, since I still think that QCharts' software is unparalleled from a user-interface standpoint.

Regards,

Thunderdog