Bracket Trader Blog

BT link to Ensign 10

larrysy — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:20:16 +0000

Ensign has updated their powerful charting software to Ensign 10 (E10). With E10, the old BT link files won’t work anymore. However, an entirely new set of link files + a new BT release is now available which will work with E10 playback. The new link is much faster and will stream almost all ticks from the playback.

Here are the instructions on how to setup the E10 playback -
1. download the 2012r01 release of BT and the ESPL.zip
2. place the ESPL.zip file in the c:\Ensign10 folder and unzip – it will automatically unzip to the ESPL folder
3. run BT and select “ENSIGN 10 Playback” as your Data Source
4. setup E10 playback
5. click the ESPL button when the chart is running
6. you can close the ESPL window when data is already streaming to BT

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 issues ….

larrysy — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:08:32 +0000

If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 and getting the following error - “Error while unpacking program, code 2. Please report to author.”, this is due to one of the Microsoft updates. The update will be installed without you knowing it if you have Automatic Update turned on. The fix - uninstall KB2507938, KB2555917 and KB2533623 using add / remove programs.

Mac version

larrysy — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:18:43 +0000

This post is to answer a question sent by email through the forum. I have done a few Mac apps for trading with IB – just the basic functions but not anything like BT. I’m concentrating on rolling out a new version of BT coded from the ground up which will tackle the remaining issues (partial fills, scales). So, at the moment, no Mac version yet.

PS: If you send an email through the forum, please leave a return email. David, I hope you find your way here for your answer. And, I might need beta testers for the new version soon.

Check your DEP setting…

larrysy — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:43:11 +0000

if you’re using Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. BT will crash on startup if DEP (data execution prevention) is not disabled for BT. You can do this by going to the Control Panel => System => Advanced tab => Performance Option => Data Execution Prevention and add BracketTrader.exe to the exclusion list. Here’s a link to the forum thread.

Error 75

larrysy — Mon, 02 May 2011 23:46:04 +0000

Are you getting Error 75 when running BT?

Try the following -
1. run BT as Administrator
2. scan your computer for viruses

http://www.ehow.com/how_6669017_fix-runtime-error-75.html

Adding a new symbol – SB

larrysy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:11:56 +0000

You can add any symbol with the instructions in the previous posts -
http://www.bracket-trader.com/blog/?p=72
http://www.bracket-trader.com/blog/?p=141

Here is another example for sugar.

Again, the steps to add a new symbol is first to check the Contract Description in IB

Next, check the tick increment by noting the smallest price difference between each tick.

Then, enter the parameters -

Lastly, make sure the expiry is correct -

Adding a new symbol (2)

larrysy — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:45:37 +0000

Same as the original post but this time for ZC, etc.

1. Check the contract description in TWS

2. Get the underlying (=symbol), multiplier (=pointvalue) and exchange and enter in the Add Symbol window

3. Make sure the expiry is correct -

Know your expiry (NYMEX in particular)

larrysy — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:19:10 +0000

Are you jumping to the conclusion that NYMEX doesn’t work in BT? The problem most probably is in the expiry. Most futures instruments(like ES) expire on a quarterly basis, but for NYMEX, the expiry is monthly. For example, at this time (March 2, 2011), the next expiry date is mid-March. However, the contract traded is already April 2011 (J11).

http://www.liveoilprices.co.uk/oil-expiry-dates.html

You should know the nuances of the instrument you are trading. For NYMEX in BT, the expiry should already be 201104 -

BT for ATS tips

larrysy — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:09:00 +0000

If you are using BT for ATS trading, you might consider placing the signal file in a ram disk - http://www.techsnack.net/gavotte-ramdisk-free-virtual-hardisk

1. processing is faster than disk write/read

2. prolongs hard disk life by reducing frequent write/reads

3. signals not needed once read by BT so no need for permanent storage

You might also delete the signal file first before appending the signal to reduce BT processing time.

What is the latest API version?

larrysy — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:30:05 +0000

Apparently the answer depends on what part of the world you are in. If you are in Asia, the latest version is still 9.63 as of today – http://www.interactivebrokers.com.hk/en/p.php?f=programInterface&ib_entity=inst

but it is already 9.64 elsewhere
- http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/p.php?f=programInterface&ib_entity=llc

And, the latest version is exactly the same beta version when it is still beta.