QuoteTracker replacing QCharts

Posted on October 10, 2007
Tags: Resources, Day Trading |

Since I’ve been experiencing issues with the internet (to put things mildly) a few weeks ago, I’ve been looking for ways I can improve speed of things on my end. This included moving to being connected via Ethernet wire instead of wirelessly while trading and also examining other data providers. I’ve tried and used different charting apps in the past few years and always went back to QCharts as it’s just awesome with its intuitive interface and unique data fields (which I was unable to find anywhere else, even till now). But the lag of the new version QCharts 6 and the screwy data of version 5.1 just pushed me away from it. Two weekends ago I started playing with and testing QuoteTracker, I looked at it in the past, and when I launched it a few days ago my opinion was more or less the same - damn ugly and confusing to work with. But this time, I didn’t have too many choices and really needed to do something about improving the lag.

I also tried eSignal at the same time but it’s the most expensive for the least charting and data that I could find, so no. Maybe if you’re a
developer and like to do lots of indicators etc. with the EFS then it might be great. I don’t use indicators on charts and I like my charts simple, fast and clear. So after a whole weekend with QuoteTracker, I finally managed to make it look half decent - i.e. a bit more like QCharts :-) What to do, old habits die hard, and spending hundreds of days and thousands of hours infront of the same QCharts screen makes you get used to it. Since that weekend 2 weeks ago I’ve been trading almost exclusively with QT with the IQ Feed data provider and it’s been holding up great. I even like some of the unique fields I get with it that weren’t available in QC.

What blows my mind is that these guys at QuoteTracker are actually offering it for free, with a small ads banner. A full featured, powerful tool, and all you have to put up with for using it for free is a small banner, much less than your average website, or even blog. I also have to mention that their support has been exemplary, I bombarded them with questions, most of which I’m sure they’ve been asked a gazillion times. Yet I received very prompt and very spot on reply. So I’ve decided to register it, for a year, at $60 that’s $5 a month, more as a show of support than anything else. At that price it’s a steal, also if someone can’t afford the 5 bucks a month for a charting app then they’re probably in the wrong business.

It’ll take a while till I’m fully used to QT by which time I’ll be ready to cancel my QCharts subscription (sniff sniff), gotta keep adapting and just doing whatever works best rather than what you’re used to. Besides, if anything, this experience taught me that you can get used to something new pretty fast, if you have to :-)

Comments

15 Responses to “QuoteTracker replacing QCharts”

oonr7 on October 10th, 2007 6:10 am

my feelings for QT are probably the same as yours for QCharts. However, if you don’t like indicators and bells and whistles… how come you didn’t like QT in the beginning? From and aesthetic point of view, I can’t imagine QCharts being that much better. I actually wish I could do MORE with QT sometimes and I’m always sending them suggestions. I agree that their customer service rocks!!! Good luck with QT.
eyal on October 10th, 2007 1:33 pm

QT is a lot clunkier than QCharts. QC’s charts, quotesheets and built-in scanners are highly functional and elegantly done while keeping things simple. If not for data issues I would never have changed. I’m also not a big fan (yet?) of backfilling charts, sometimes it doesn’t work 100% well. But I am getting used to the new setup, it’s not a do or die thing (fortunately).
jeff on October 11th, 2007 3:19 pm

QT clunky? i beg to differ. QT does have some disadvantages, but clunky isn’t one of them, IMHO. Check out Sierra for clunky!

BTW, great blog!
eyal on October 11th, 2007 3:31 pm

And differ you may ;-) We all have different experiences and expectations. Have you tried QCharts btw? I checked out Sierra way back, I thought it was for Windows 3.1 only ;-)

Don’t get me wrong, I use QT daily, I like it and think it’s great in many areas, the interface though isn’t, IMO, as good as some other charting apps.

Thanks for reading the blog, and appreciated your comment.
jeff on October 11th, 2007 3:44 pm

I actually have tried QC. Not bad IMO. Sierra is very, very powerful (especially if you have a knack for Excel) and very clunky too. I find QT, while having some limitation (backfill, no indicator overlay etc.) has one big advantage: it doesn’t stand between you and your trading :)
If you are into freeware, you may want to try Ninja Trader. It’s charting is free, very clean, can use multiple datafeeds (incl. IB), can store all data on local files (QT only let you keep 10 days of tick data), and has a very nice playback feature. Its support is almost as fast as QT’s. I’m still using QT at this point, though.
eyal on October 12th, 2007 2:03 pm

I’ve just tried Ninja Trader, it certainly come a long way since the last time I trialed it. It’s still more suitable for futures though, with stocks I need to cycle through lots of candidates which isn’t possible from what I’ve seen with Ninja Trader. But thanks for the heads up, it’s interesting to see what else is out there.
opw on October 16th, 2007 2:21 am

Hi Eyal,

I had exactly the same thing. I was just back for about a year into Qcharts. I had high hopes once E-signal bought it, but, judging by 6, they effectively killed it.

I will miss the hotlists (no other software has that like Qcharts) or the point and click alerts.

However, I now have Tradestation looking exactly like qcharts candles and I love it. Its the next best thing I believe after trying everything and its only $99 and practically no symbol limit.

For example charting: most software draw moving average in front of price candles, qcharts does not. Result: clearer charts.
Now I have tradestation doing that too.

Now if only I could have something like qcharts hotlists…
eyal on October 16th, 2007 7:09 am

opw - I’ve tried TradeStation in the past, I had issues with the speed of their data and their shortable list was maybe 5 stocks back then :-) Do you know if they improved on that? Yes the hotlists are sorely missed. I’ve replaced them with IB’s scanners.
opw on October 16th, 2007 8:18 am

Hi Eyal,

I never had any speed issues with them (except the occasional problem), in fact its one of the quickest when flipping though charts, comparable to Qcharts on a very good day :)

I don’t use TS as a broker… IB is perfect for me, can trade anything and hedge the currency risk (European) all from the same account. But I think TS have expanded their short list compared to the past.

feel free to contact me on how to make TS charts look like Qcharts :)
Eliot on April 13th, 2008 7:42 pm

Eyal,

Read your comments with interest. I’ve been a futures trader for many years. Was an eSignal user before they called it that, and also had FutureSource off a giant dish, then shifted to Tradestation 4, then 2000, and finally left them for Qcharts.

This was as close to happiness as I’ve been with a charting interface for over 2 years. But wanting Tick/volume charts, and more reliable data, I eventually grew restless.

Tried Ensign with IB data which was weak, (I still maintain an IB account though), tried Quotetracker, NeoTicker, InvestorRT on the Mac as well as the PC, among others, and have reluctantly returned to Tradestation 8, tolerating its inconsistent and unreliable tick data, and flakey software. There are much worse interfaces out there in charting land, but it could also be so much better. But the data is what makes me want to run! Very weak on the Tick side, even though 6 months of it is a attractive idea. But if it’s garbage, what good is it?

I keep in touch with the QCharts folks, hoping against hope that eSignal would pull things together and rescue the platform. No such luck it seems, at least thus far, either with v5 or v6.

Anyway, glad you’ve found some peace with Quotetracker. I was considering trying it again myself, with DTN, whom I’ve never tried yet.

Finally, I had also hoped that NinjaTrader would be up to the task of charting, but it’s not yet ready for prime time. I use it to place trades, and it is quite good in that capacity. But weak quoting, and breadth tools among other faults, would keep me from adopting it as a complete tool. I still have hopes for them as well though. They need a bit more of an offering in the support realm. Some phone contact would be a start.

Keep us informed about your Quotetracker experience, and anything else you stumble across. Nice to know we’re not alone out here! - )
eyal on April 14th, 2008 2:57 pm

Eliot, thanks for sharing your experience. I keep in the loop on the QCharts as well, there are still tons of complaints, even about the latest version 6.0.2 which was just released. A shame.

I take it you’re still with TS? For the charting only or also for strategy development? I’ve just started looking into the latter. It’s tough when you can’t program :-)
Eliot on April 14th, 2008 4:24 pm

Just using TS for the charting. Use Ninja for trade entry. I’m not a programmer either, but my setups are quite simple, so none required. One of my mantras over the years is “keep it simple”. Helps to keep the mind at bay during the session as to what is and isn’t a valid signal/trade.

The one thing that keeps me from running a “CPU resident data” app vs the server model is the need to manage that data. Swore that off after TS4/2000! - ) Markets are almost 24/7 these days, and historical backfill availability is usually inadequate (outside of the QCharts/Tradestation model).

No easy answers unfortunately! - )
eyal on April 16th, 2008 3:46 am

I like the “keep it simple” approach, I don’t think anything else would work for me.
Yeah it is a nightmare to maintain all that data, I used to do that for some really old applications I was using back in 2000. TS is indeed a much better approach, when the app isn’t crashing :-)
dc on April 16th, 2008 6:37 am

Hi eyal,

Been reading your blog for a while, nice work.

I trade futures from Singapore through a local broker and am using their white-labeled QuoteTracker/DTN for charting. I look at basic price-action, so QT’s simplicity is good enough for me.

Was wondering whether you subscribe to DTN’s futures datafeeds (read somewhere you’re looking into futures)? I pay abt SGD100/mth (min 5 round-turns) for most major exchanges (CME/CBOT, NYMEX, EUREX, EURONEXT, SGX-DT, HKFE). Wondering if it’ll be cheaper if I just subscribe directly to QT/DTN.

dc
eyal on April 16th, 2008 3:21 pm

dc - I subscribe to IQFeed for equities only. I used TradeStation and IB’s feed for the futures so no experience with DTN on this.

The cost for the data sounds reasonable, I think individually real-time data for all the exchanges you listed will be at least that amount. Some data providers have a data cost calculator depending on which feeds you choose, can’t remember if it’s IQF or eSignal though.

Which futures are you trading? I’ll be interested to hear about your trading style if you’re willing to share any information. Btw, I’m in Singapore later this month, might be free for a drink if you’re keen. You can drop me an email - see on the right side bar.