There really is no correlation between readings in eSignal/DTN vs Tradestation. My DTN trail has expired, but in eSignal I can see that the reads are in the same range, eSignal just updates every 6 seconds.
I scalp trade, holding anywhere from 15
secs or so up to 2minutes. I've found TS $Ticks to be very helpful with the other indicators I am using. No way could I get the same info using another data feed, though.
I contacted both eSignal and DTN over the last couple weeks. Here is their response.
DTN:
"...we have a request in to get it calculated faster. You are the first customer ever to request our TICK values to be calculated faster so that is interesting. We are currently calculating it faster than everyone BUT Tradestation. "
eSignal:
" Unfortuantely, there is no way to increase the speed of updates for $TICK indicator. This is the interval at which the data is provided to us. It is possible TradeStation calculates this data themselves and is the reason for the difference in updates. "
So at least DTN is working on it. The customer service guy told me he would update me when they have it calculating faster.
If you are interested, here is a link from Sierra Chart where quite a few traders had some input. Apparently, the issue is known as "tick bundling" and most data feeds display that way.
http://supportboard.sierrachart.com/...ad.php?t=14783
I'm not familiar with the cumulative tick indicator, but in the TS forums, there is info about what's available -- NYSE Total volume, Advancing and Declining Issues.
It seems there are a group of traders really interested in getting even more indicators for market internals. I'm not sure if you can access TS forums without being a customer, though.
Re fading the top of the range, I have found that to be more difficult to predict. As Soultrader said in his article, once you begin trading with the $TICK, you can begin to develop your own strategies. I'm finding that I can spot some good opportunities as the $TICK goes from positive to negative and vice versa.