TradeChartist Actuator

12. Dez. 2021

™TradeChartist Actuator is an extremely functional indicator that converts the price action volatility and momentum into a meaningful trading system (based on user defined Standard Deviation Factor), that consists of expanding/contracting Volatility Range Bands, Dynamic Trend Support/Resistance Bands and 2 types of Breakout Signals in a visually stunning design. The script also neatly packs in ZigZag & manual/automatic Fibonacci Retracement tools, option to filter the signals using an external filter and other useful extras like ™TradeChartist Dollar Candles and much more.

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™TradeChartist Actuator User Manual

█ Actuator Range Bands

Actuator Range Bands consists of a Mean line, an Upper Band and a Lower Band which are based on user defined Standard Deviation Factor (Default - 1.618, Min - 0.5, Max - 2). The 1.618 factor works extremely well as the unnecessary volatility data of the bands are eliminated by Actuator's logic. In my personal tests, 1.618 works consistently better than any other value in visually showcasing the true volatility range. By eliminating the unnecessary volatility data from the original non-stabilized bands, Actuator helps detect price momentum by detecting two types of breakouts.

• Bands Breakout - Filtered

When the price breaks out of the upper or lower band after a trend, there is a strong possibility of a reversal especially when the volatility expansion/contraction takes place. This is detected using a built in filter with the Filtered Bands Breakout and the user can choose to use the closing price or High/Low price as the trigger for breakouts. This trade setup is very useful especially at zones where the Actuator Range Bands contract or squeeze after an expansion as shown in the XAUUSD 1hr chart below.



Also, after a consistent expansion of the bands with price trending in the upper channel or the lower channel, users can spot good profit taking or Short trade opportunities with confirmation of overbought price and if possible a strong bear divergence as show in the BINANCE:LUNAUSDTPERP 1hr chart below.



It can be seen from the chart above that even though Actuator is designed to detect Extreme Bands Breakout using High/Low price, it is done with a little bit of filtering by the script logic and hence didn't generate a Bear signal at the lower band support zone.

• Mean Breakout - Filtered

In most Mean Reversion models, mostly oscillators, the mean plays an important role in helping traders predict the price dynamic, but it also presents a challenge whether that mean will act as support or resistance so the trader can take a position that will have a high probability of success. Filtered Mean Breakout helps exactly to identify the price dynamic at the mean zone and helps reduce the dilemma. Actuator uses Volatility Trend and Momentum of the price action at mean to determine Bull/Bear breakouts. Following AAPL 1hr chart shows an example of 2 instances of Filtered Mean Breakout detection, one bull and one bear and further area where no Breakout was detected in spite of price crossing the mean.



This Breakout type is really helpful in spotting early moves and also reduces the high volatility risk of Extreme Bands Breakout in some cases.

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█ External Filter

• Actuator breakout signals can be further filtered using the feature of connecting an external signal as a trade filter.

• External filter like RSI , MACD etc. can be used to filter breakouts by connecting to ™TradeChartist Actuator under ╔═══ 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 ═══ 🔌 dropdown by enabling 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫.

• To get the external filter to work, 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 must be set right. For plots that are non oscillatory like Moving Averages, Super Trend etc., choose type as Non Oscillatory and for Oscillators like RSI , CCI , MACD etc., choose type as Oscillatory.

• For Oscillators, levels must be specified for 𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 and 𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞, especially if the Oscillator doesnt have 0 as midline, like RSI . Even for 0 mid oscillators like CCI , filter levels like 100/-100 work effectively to filter noise.

• Use 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥/𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥 under Actuator Visuals section to paint the trade zones background. It helps visually see the effect of filters on the breakout entries and also the trade performance.

The following chart shows the Filter settings with ™TradeChartist Momentum Drift Oscillator connected to Actuator as Oscillatory signal with filter values 0.



The two example charts of 1hr BTCUSDT below shows the difference in Actuator signals based on Oscillatory signal from ™TradeChartist Momentum Drift Oscillator and the difference can be seen from the highlighted Bull/Bear Background Fill.

Without External Filter



With External Filter



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█ Dynamic Trend Support/Resistance Bands

In addition to Volatility Range Bands, Actuator also plots Dynamic Trend Support and Resistance bands that are more sensitive to price action and helps the user determine growing support/resistance which is indicated by coloured dots. These dots normally appear when the Support or Resistance stays at the same level for a few bars and change between Bull and Bear colours based on how the price interacts with them as shown below.



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█ Useful Trade Tools

• ™TradeChartist Dollar Candles

Dollar Candles help detect the volatility exhaustion prices and plots $ signs to help the trader take profits or move stop loss levels to secure gains. The $ signs do not appear for every trade zone, but whenever price hits a critical level, it shows up above price bar (for Bull trend) or below price bar (for Bear trend) in real time. Users can also set alerts for Dollar Candles with Once Per Bar setting. The Daily TSLA chart below shows the Dollar Candles on both Bull and Bear trends.



It is important to note that taking pockets of profits on a leveraged trade position or moving up stop loss to maximize trend gains at $ candles will help increase Average Profitability Per Trade (APPT).

• Bull/Bear Background Fill

Bull/Bear Background Fill paints the trade zones in Bull and Bear colours. This helps visualize the difference in trade zones when testing various settings and also helps analyze past performance of Actuator Signals with or without the use of External Filter.

• Entry Stop Loss Reference

Reference zone for stop loss has always been a tricky one for traders. Using a fixed percentage stop at entry may not be best during high volatility moves. Over the extensive period of Actuator testing, a simple solution to this problem was found. The previous trend's Range Bands Mean Line served as a perfect reference point for Entry Stop. Also while analysing this Mean line, it was found to be a perfect horizontal support/resistance line and also helped detect unproductive trades. The example 15m chart of AMD shows how the Entry Stop Loss Reference performed.



Stop Line Touch Points plot orange touch points on the Stop Line whenever the price hits it during the trade.

• Actuator Colour Bars

Actuator Colour Bars paints the Momentum Strength on the price bars. This helps visually see the price bars venturing into the Overbought or the Oversold zones. Also, this feature also helps spot divergences as higher highs or lower lows with less intense Bull/Bear colour than the previous high/low shows diminishing momentum as shown in the 1h chart of GBPJPY below.



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█ ZigZag & Fibonacci Toolkit

• Actuator plots developing and completed ZigZags based on Bull and Bear trend depending on the Breakout Type and Breakout Price from the settings.

• Option to enable or disable 𝐙𝐢𝐠𝐙𝐚𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 which can be helpful for Harmonic traders.

• Option to display 𝐙𝐢𝐠𝐙𝐚𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬/𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐬 and 𝐑𝐒𝐈 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬/𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐬 in one of two styles.

• Two types of Fibonacci to choose from - 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨-𝐅𝐢𝐛𝐬 and 𝐅𝐢𝐛𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.

• 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨-𝐅𝐢𝐛𝐬 option plots Auto Fibonacci levels based on Bull/Bear trend depending on user specified Breakout Type and Breakout Price.

• 𝐅𝐢𝐛𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 plots Fibonacci levels based on the highest high and lowest low of the lookback period (𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 or 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬).

• Fibonacci levels can be reversed by enabling 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 from settings.

• Enabling 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐛 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 displays the current Fib level of the developing price bar.

• Option to customize Fib levels and colours.

4hr chart of BTCUSDT showing Auto Fibonacci levels, Zig-Zag with Trend High/Lows, Zig-Zag connectors with Fib Ratios and RSI at Trend High/Low prices.



Note:

• If momentum doesn't slow down, the fibs can extend beyond 1 and may continue way beyond 4.618 fib level. These are quite rare depending on how distant the near high/low is based.

• ZigZag and Fibonacci are good reference indicators and should always be used as confirmations rather than standalone indicators.

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█ Actuator Colour Scheme

Actuator employs 3 built in colour schemes namely Chilli, Flame and Sublime Grayscale and a versatile colour scheme Custom which enables the user to customise the colour combinations of the components of the Actuator script.

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█ Alerts

Alerts can be created for the following.

• Actuator Bull Breakout Signal - Once Per Bar Close
  
  
  • Actuator Bear Breakout Signal - Once Per Bar Close
    
    
    • Actuator Long Dollar - Take Profit - Once Per Bar
      
      
      • Actuator Short Dollar - Take Profit - Once Per Bar
        
        
        • Actuator Stop Line Hit - Once Per Bar
          
          Note: The script doesn't repaint, so the alerts can be used with confidence. To check this, users can do bar replays to check if the plots and markers stay in the same place.
          
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          Best Practice: Test with different settings first using Paper Trades before trading with real money
          
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14. Dez. 2021

Versionshinweise

Code optimised. Updated AutoFibs module

23. Dez. 2021

Versionshinweise

Added - Auto Trend and Fixed Range Volume Profile

24. Dez. 2021

Versionshinweise

Added - Option to display POC Price on VP

24. Dez. 2021

Versionshinweise

Code optimized