[daedalus]

I'm new to range bars and to be honest i've never used them on another platform so I don't know if this is normal and how they work or if there is some kind of algo problem in OEC trader.

My question is this: Is it normal for say a 5 pip range bar chart (4 tick bars, the 5th tick in a given direction should start the new bar right?) to have some bars that are 4 ticks in legnth and others that are 5? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?

I've attached a picture of what I mean. Is this just typical range chart behavior or is it an OEC bug?

Thanks for the help gents!

[statsign]

If a bar is forming and has range of 4 pips and a trade suddenly happens outside the 5 range then it isn't possible to have a 6 or 7 pip bar because the cutoff is 5 and so it has to be a new bar.

[MBAGearhead]

Daedalus you are correct. I've been after OEC for months to fix this. Last I heard from Chris at OEC was, "I am still working with our development team and project manager to see if we can implement the same functionality as eSignal and Sierra Chart. I do not see this being implemented in the immediate future as this project needs approval first."

If more people make OEC aware of this, maybe it will get fixed sooner. The beauty of range bars is you know exactly where the opening tick of the next bar will be once current bar has traded it's full range (next tick above current bar high or next tick below current bar low will start the next bar). But with this bug, you have no idea if current bar will end a tick short or go the specified range.

A couple months ago in early communications, OEC said that according to the development team, this is not a bug. The range bars in the OEC platform can have varying lengths. I then asked if the developers could explain the logic to me how bars are currently created but I've not heard back on this.

Attached are a couple examples of OEC vs. eSignal charts I have sent them. The best one has 4 charts in 1 picture showing a 1-min and 4-tick range chart side by side with eSignal data.

Originally Posted by MBAGearhead »

If more people make OEC aware of this, maybe it will get fixed sooner.

If OEC's improper charting is given priority over other issues reported to them earlier, then they will never fix their data feed.

I hope OEC give priority to fixing their data feed first so that traders who use professional third party charting software could trade via them.

If the data is fixed they might focus on fixing their charting, which sucks indeed not only when it comes to range or tick bars.

Regards

[daedalus]

I'll send OEC a nice email requesting this be addressed. I thought I might have been understanding the logic wrong but if its a platform issue that's unacceptable. I mean, this isn't a beta release of some functionality or something, its their full release and their charts don't even function as they should.

[brownsfan019]

As with many things in data reporting, there isn't always a standard is looks like.

Here's what I was able to get regarding this issue:

Bottom line: It is not a bug. There are several implementations of range bars. It seems OEC is using one that differs from eSignal and Sierra.

Is OEC's implementation correct? That is open for discussion as pointed out here.

Could OEC conform to how eSignal and Sierra reports? Yes, if approved.

One other thing to note is OEC doesn’t fill gaps with fake ticks.

I would suggest that if you would like the data represented according to how eSignal and Sierra presents the data, send a support ticket expressing your desire.

[Dinerotrader]

Originally Posted by Tresor »

If OEC's improper charting is given priority over other issues reported to them earlier, then they will never fix their data feed.

I hope OEC give priority to fixing their data feed first so that traders who use professional third party charting software could trade via them.

If the data is fixed they might focus on fixing their charting, which sucks indeed not only when it comes to range or tick bars.

Regards

I am not sure why you would bother dealing at all with OEC if you weren't satisfied with their service/charts/etc. If the current value I find in using OEC wasn't there, I would go find one of the other many brokers out there. No reason to waste time fighting with a broker when there is money to be made.

Brownsfan, you are consistently willing to provide feedback and help with people's OEC issues including my own. Thanks for the free help.

[thalestrader]

Originally Posted by brownsfan019 »

As with many things in data reporting, there isn't always a standard is looks like.

Here's what I was able to get regarding this issue:

Bottom line: It is not a bug. There are several implementations of range bars. It seems OEC is using one that differs from eSignal and Sierra.

Is OEC's implementation correct? That is open for discussion as pointed out here.

Could OEC conform to how eSignal and Sierra reports? Yes, if approved.

One other thing to note is OEC doesn’t fill gaps with fake ticks.

I would suggest that if you would like the data represented according to how eSignal and Sierra presents the data, send a support ticket expressing your desire.

There are several different implementations of range bars? Are there several different implementations of minute bars as well? Would it make sense to load a 5 minute chart, and have some bars that are 4 minutes and others that are 6? Range bars are understood everywhere in the world to be a chart where each bar is the same number of ticks. OEC doesn't use "fake ticks" to fill gaps? Well there is part of the problem. The other part seems to be a technological incompetence. Range bars such as those in the examples above are useless. If range bars are important to you, daedalus, then do as Dinero suggested and move on.

Best Wishes,

Thales