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Topstep's Nick Dolby (Social Media and Community Coordinator) - Ask me Anything (AMA)
@TopstepTrader, I hope you realize that this issue is a major business issue for you, not just a support issue with one Combine user.
I have followed each of the links that @canoekoh provided to Sierra Chart support board posts. It is clear that Sierra Chart knows of the CTS freezing issue, and has found that it is not being solved by CTS. Sierra is going to discontinue support for CTS and is in the process of providing an alternative service. Here is a quote from one of the Sierra Chart replies to one of the posts:
I cannot comment on the solution that a support rep offered to @canoekoh, except to say that I would not have liked it either -- it basically is "too bad for you, sign up and pay (again) for one of our other options," which is definitely not the level of responsiveness and reasonableness that I am used to from TST support. I assume someone can look at the issue and make some more reasonable accommodation, given the nature of the situation.
But I am writing to point out the importance of this issue right now to all traders who use or are contemplating using the Combine and who use Sierra Chart. TST is facing a serious loss of business if there is no alternative provided, other than just wait for it. At a minimum, the sign-up on the TST website should inform potential customers of the issue, and frankly, it is up to TST to proactively find a way forward -- and to make sure no one else starts a Combine using Sierra Chart without knowing what they are getting into, and to inform current users what they have gotten into. There must be some rational solution for anyone affected by the problem. I'm sure you can find one if you make the effort.
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Edit: I just re-read the TST support rep's response, and saw that they suggested "a new Trading Combine[/B] with NinjaTrader and connect with SeirraCharts. You will be able to use this in the Funded Account as well." This sounds like a possible workaround, but instructions would have to be given when signing up on how to start a Combine with NT and then set some parameters in Sierra Chart or something to allow using SC in place of NT.
There still needs to be a solution for existing SC users who want to change, and it shouldn't involve paying again for a Combine. This type of solution probably can't involve transferring over the existing trade data because it would involve a new provider, but something could be worked out there too on TST's end if they worked on it.
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I am not currently in a Combine, but I have planned to enter one again in the future. I am not going to go to NinjaTrader, which I left out of dissatisfaction with its version 8. I do not want to go to some other platform I have never even looked at, either.
I have posted often in support of TST on FIO in the past, and I think you have a very good and useful program. I hope you will pay attention to the needs of your many friends and current and future customers and get something going to fix a situation that is simply not workable.
We should not have found out about this by someone posting on this forum. You should be on top of it, and get on top of it now.
Sure, you could get around the issue this way, by having one platform to follow the market and one to trade with.
Not the world's best solution, and, importantly, TST needs to inform people about the CTS issues before they go trustingly into a Sierra Chart Combine using CTS. They also should do something if someone is in a present Combine and is having problems.
Naturally, this will all get handled eventually. Bad solutions never last very long. I'm just arguing for a solution to be settled on sooner than it seems like it will be.
Good. I assumed so, from the TST support response to @canoekoh. I edited my original post to mention that, but also to mention that if this is available, it should be explicitly offered, and should even be the preferred, or the only, option for connecting with Sierra Chart.
But I went to the TST website just now, and the only thing they have up there for Sierra Chart is connection instructions to CTS. If CTS has known issues, there should be something else available on the site and in the connection instructions that are sent to new Combiners.
If you have to first set up with NT and then change something to get to use SC, that's awkward but OK for now. If there is a way to initially just set up for Righmic without the NT thing first, that's much better. But whatever is available should be in the instructions. In fact, TST really ought to just drop CTS and give only instructions for another service, if there really are issues of CTS freezing up frequently. There also needs to be some pathway for current CTS/SC users that at least doesn't cost another Combine.
I'm sure it will get fixed, eventually.
My only point is that this whole thing needs to be addressed, right now. So I'm banging on the table a little bit.
This is exactly what I do with all of them - I have Ninja 7 and 8 and I only use the prop's order DOM for order execution. This makes your life a lot easier because you can develop on any platform you wish - Sierra, TradeStation, Ninja - and just use the prop order execution for live trades.
It's also easier if you're trading a live personal account along side the prop.
Part of TST's reply was: "I'm sorry to hear of the troubles you had while trading. Unfortunately, we have been informed by Sierra Chart that they will no longer be supporting the CTS data connection in the near future. As a part of this, you may notice issues from time to time."
So it's not like TST didn't know about this issue in the first place.
Yet when you first sign up for the Combine and select SC as your platform, you're only set up with CTS T4. At the very least, what they should have done is offer an option like you said, and at this point, the only sensible option would be to set up all new SC accounts with Rithmic by default and inform users about CTS T4 SIM server problems.
How are first-time users like me supposed to know that the CTS SIM feed + SC would be problematic? Then going one step further and trying to charge us another $165 for a new combine to switch datafeeds due to no fault of our own is really, crossing the line.
This is a good point since you don't need to worry about datafeed + order routing integration problems with your personal platform.
Tradovate, or "TSTrader" as it's known on Topsteptrader, even has lower commissions (on the funded account) than when using other platforms so that is one other benefit to those considering.
Personally though, there are certain things about SC (advanced order type/management, custom order hotkeys) that compel me to enter orders from SC (this would be less of an issue if I was a longer-term trader) and SC also makes it super easy to run multiple data/trading services on one computer.
Right now I have a personal AMP account with CQG, TST with CTS, and Earn2Trade with Rithmic. You simply need to create 3 separate installations of SC (at no additional cost) and connect each one to a different data/trading service. Then you can run all 3 at the same time. You can have all your main charts+dom from the first installation displayed on the screen, and just a small single order entry chart for the second and third installations.
I talked with Ryan from Topsteptrader over the phone and he took care of the issue for me.
It was technically not feasible to transfer the account balance after switching data feeds but what he did was delete my current Combine account and give me a 100% off promo code to create a new Combine account. Then I set up this new account with Rithmic and although my account balance was reset, my billing date was also reset to +1 month from today so at the very least, I haven't 'lost' trading days, if that makes sense.
