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NinjaTrader problems, still, after 6 months of "customer support...
Can anyone tell me of a trading platform that has features like NinjaTrader but without feed delays (Kinetick), Chart freeze-ups, unexplained trade executions & customer "service" with bad attitude. I really like Chart Trader & the idea that NT is attempting but they have a long way to go. I use Interactive Brokers.
Thanks.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
There are a lot of threads on Ninja here, so this may be better in another thread.
My suggestion is try running TWS on a separate machine. I use Ninja/TT everyday and , although Ninja is not perfect, I don't have these problems. A long time ago, Ninja 6 , I did run Ninja and TWS on the same machine and had problems. Putting them on two different machines, solved the problem.
I used NT with TWS for about a year and can certify it is the worst combination ever. Toward the end I actually started using the TWS DOM for order entry and only used NT for charting. I used Sierra Chart with TWS for about 2 months and had no problems, but honestly, I would recommend getting away from IB/TWS all together for your day trading.
Weird, I've been using Ninja and TWS, on the same machine, for years now, and don't have anything odd with this combo. And I never noticed any feed delay with Kinetick, so you may give us more details, what you're describing could only happen, in theory, if you have a bad Internet connection and/or a very slow machine.
Thanks very much for the replies/suggestions and for the record, I'm not affiliated with any company nor am I a chronic complainer...just a trader trying to make a buck. I'm having a look at Sierra Chart, thanks for that suggestion. My computer is about 3 months old with 16gigs RAM, i5 3.40 GHZ processor and 8 monitors. An old (tech-neck) friend of mine helped me build it so I'm "purty" sure the system is OK. I would normally just change to another platform but as far as I can tell, NinjaTrader has a almost-great platform. So since you asked for more details Sam028, I'm gonna expound...
1) When I first start NT, it takes a long time to load "historical data" (reminds me of waiting for dial-up internet) and if I change a symbol on my main linked (multi time-frame charts) NT changes it back to the one that was there before...repeatedly. The only "cures" I've found for this are either changing the symbol (to different ones) successively until NT "seemingly" forgets the first one or restarting NT - which may start that whole game up, all over again. The slow load happens every time and the symbol-changing is intermittent.
2) I trade very short term (holding period 10 seconds to 30 minutes - depending on price movement) so I watch the 5 minute (within longer-term context of course) and I enter on the 1 minute. Sometimes in a very intense trade, one of my charts will freeze (can be 1 or 5) and while I'm sitting there thinking that traders must me really undecided and are being lulled into dojiville, the price keeps moving (usually a matter of maybe 10 to 20 seconds before I realize this but I'm getting better with practice ) & I either miss the trade or make a anger-induced emotional trade. If I drag the chart around to other windows sometimes it helps, if I change the time frame being displayed on that chart it works for a few moments but the only real cure is to restart NY - leading me back to #1 above.
3) I finally figured this one out (don't have a remedy tho') but sometimes I think I'm trading one stock but really I'm trading a different one. If you look at any NT chart (in the upper left corner) you see the symbol in white (on mine) and then above that you see the symbol again beside a icon or logo of a chart. Sometimes, after I think I've changed a symbol, (the chart changes) I'll enter a trade on the 1 minute (usually) and I'll subsequently notice in my "IB" account window that I have an order in for (or have entered a position in) the stock that had previously resided in that chart. This creates a panic situation and I usually close the trade immediately after I assess the damage. Sometimes I get lucky (and am green) but still close the trade because this feels more like a dart-toss than a strategic trade After a few times of this, I figured out that sometimes the symbol that is being displayed in the "upper" band in the upper left corner of the chart is the real symbol. So...one more thing I have to watch out for.
These are just a few of the problems I've run into with NT. They can be maddening when you are trying to trade and are lucky enough to be in the zone and suddenly they start....like a ghost in the machine.
I have spoken with (or emailed) almost every service rep at NT and most of them are (trained to be) nice but some of them seem like they are playing Angry Birds in the background & not really listening. They usually explain that it is a problem with me or my computer. I once got lucky and was helped by a rep who really knew his groceries & was able to fix several of the issues that I'd previously been told were on my end but they don't let you pick & choose which rep you get. Anyway, now my onboard NT "Mail to Support" function has screwed up (I suspect foul play & gives me a "failed to send mail" error message (which they say is a problem on my end) so I have to go thru my email provider & provide ID verification, etc.
I don't expect anyone will have any ideas for most of these issues but if so, Big Mike will have another lifetime Elite member.
I would take a trial on one of Sam's virtual servers and see if you still have the problem. I have never seen a delay on Kinetick on one of his machines, and having a dedicated trading machine, that is not loaded with other software, NinjaTrader should perform better.