Patsystems Interval & Timeout

[saltminer]

Hi Support,
can you explain what the Interval and Timeout parameters are in the PATSYSTEMS connection settings?
I am able to connect OK to Patsystems but maintaining it is proving difficult. There is quite a bit of "ConnectionLost", reconnecting...Connected. I'm not confident enough in this connection to trade on it yet.
If there is a tweak of the parameters I can do to help things along I'd appreciate your advice.
I'm in the process of asking my broker about it too, but they are acting pretty dumb and telling me to ask you.
Thanks,
saltminer

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Hello saltminer,

Unfortunately NinjaTrader does not dictate when a connection is lost. It operates like a radio receiver in that it receives a signal from your broker and then displays/reports these signals back to you the trader. When a connection is lost, it is the broker's API that determines this and reports this to NinjaTrader which in turn reports this back to the trader.

The common problems that contribute to this are:

- ISP issues

- hardware firewall issues changing IP addresses frequently

- Dynamic ISP address switching the address frequently intraday. Usually this happens once a week but you may want to check with your ISP. If they do change daily, a static IP address may work.

- With Windows XP SP2, if you have more than 10 open TCPIP socket connections open (10 programs making connections through the internet) windows will randomly shut down some connections

- Broker servers having problems

[saltminer]

Hi, thanks for the reply.
I've checked my hardware firewall equipment and an IP address rotates every 72 hours, so I don't think that is the problem. I'm having problems a few times per hour.
Right now I can't even make an initial connection to my broker reliably. Sometimes it just hangs at the "Connecting" phase.
Any chance I can send you my connection details and you check it at your end? (I note you have offered that support previously to others.)
saltminer.
P.S. Using Vista. NinjaTrader and ESignal very reliable and solid.

[NinjaTrader_Ben]

Hello,

Try waiting 10 minutes for the connection. It may not take this long but some times it does. The reason it takes as long as it does due in part because your broker is validating the instruments that you are authorized to trade. You can see the list by going to: Tools>Instrument Manager>Pats...

If you still feel there is an issue, please send me your account connection information and I will test it for your: support at ninjatrader dot com "attn Ben" and please refer to this conversation for reference.

Sorry for the delayed reply by the way!

[saltminer]

• Hi,
• I just had the broker trim down my available contracts to only 2, so that should help I guess. But take a look at this log of my Connection Status... You can see every few minutes I lose connection. It comes back, but boy, it makes me nervous about trading this account.
• 15/09/08 09:30 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:29 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:27 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:27 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:22 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:22 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:20 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:20 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:15 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:15 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:14 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:14 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:11 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:11 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:10 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:10 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:07 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 09:07 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=ConnectionLost
  
• 15/09/08 09:06 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connected Price feed=Connected
  
• 15/09/08 08:58 Connection ActivTrades: Primary connection=Connecting Price feed=Connecting

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Hello saltminer,

Please send us your account connection information, so we can test your connection on our end and check if we experience the same disconnections.

Do you perhaps use a router in your internet connection setup? If so, try connecting your computer directly to your modem and check if this makes a difference.

[saltminer]

Thanks for testing my connection. Seems you could run it for 15 minutes with no problems.
I'm in Australia. I'm wondering if the inter-continental internet might have something to do with it... Do you have any previous history of users down here having trouble?
I'd open an account with an Australian futures broker who supports NinjaTrader, except there isn't one.

saltminer.

[NinjaTrader_VinceB]

Hi,

Most likely it’s an ISP issue combined with the broker technology used. There are other US brokers you can use with different technology. If you like I can forward your information to one of those brokers so they can contact you and set you up with a 2 week free trial with Live market data. If you’re interested please send a response to support at ninjatrader dot com and refer to this post. Please put in the subject header ‘For Vince’.