Dual EMA

The problem it addresses

A price that touches a key average and is pushed back shows a clear rejection, but spotting it on every chart by eye is tiring, and entering late changes the risk.

What it does

Two ways to enter on the rejection of a moving average by a candle with a long wick. A continuation entry: a pull-back rejected at the fast average (50) while the RSI is near the middle. An exhaustion entry: a rejection at the slow average (200) while the RSI is at an extreme.

An optional filter lets a trade go only in the direction of the trend on a higher timeframe (1 hour by default, 50-period average).

Stop and target are ATR multiples (1.5 and 2.5). An optional trailing stop and an optional break-even can be switched on. After a number of losing trades in one day (2 by default) it stops opening new ones.

On first attach the mode is "Alerts only": it sends alerts and opens nothing. Set the mode to Trade to let it open trades. One position at a time, magic number 26110003.

Who it is for: Traders who like entries at a key average with a higher-timeframe filter, and who will first watch the alerts and then test on a demo account.

Symbols and timeframes: Written to run on any symbol that allows trading; stops and lots adapt through the ATR. The rules read the timeframe you choose (30 minutes by default); the higher timeframe must be longer than that one, otherwise the chart is refused.

Real accounts: on a demo account it trades at once; on any other account it sends no order until you tick the input "I confirm this is a real account I want to trade". Test the EA on a demo account first. When everything works as you expect, use it on a real account.

The idea behind it

Trade the rejection of a key average, with the trend of a higher timeframe.

History

Version 1.00 is the first public version, built from the specification of the earlier Gold Dual EMA tool on the shared DRF strategy base. It is NOT behaviour-identical to that earlier tool: its cash money rules are now ATR distances and a risk-based lot. Mechanics were checked on a demo account and in the Strategy Tester. This page makes no claim about results.

Indicators used

• Exponential averages (50 and 200)
• RSI (14)
• ATR (14) with a quiet-market check
• Exponential average on a higher timeframe
• Wick-to-body ratio of the candle

What is included

• Continuation and exhaustion entries, each can be switched off
• Higher-timeframe trend filter
• Stop and target in ATR multiples, optional trailing stop and break-even
• Daily limit on losing trades
• Alerts-only mode
• Spread, news and trading-hours filters

What is not included

• It does not promise or imply any result
• It does not open trades until you set the mode to Trade
• It does not run on a real account until you tick the confirmation input

How it works

1. On every new closed candle on the chosen timeframe it looks for a candle whose wick is long compared with its body and that was rejected at the fast (continuation) or slow (exhaustion) average.
2. The RSI must be in the band for that entry type, the market must not be too quiet, and the higher-timeframe trend must agree if the filter is on.
3. In "Alerts only" mode it sends an alert. In "Trade" mode, if the filters allow it, it sends the order with a stop and a target.
4. If the trailing stop or the break-even are on, they move the stop of an open trade. After the set number of losing trades in a day it stops opening new ones until the next day.

What you need

• MetaTrader 5 on Windows (the file is a compiled MetaTrader 5 Expert Advisor, .ex5).
• A DRF Key (7-day free trial; see the DRF Key page) and https://sync.donaldsonrf.com in the WebRequest list of the terminal, for the key check only.
• Algo Trading switched on, and "Allow Algo Trading" ticked for the Expert Advisor.
• A demo account to test on. A real account only after you have tested and tick the confirmation input.
• Enough history for a 200-period average on the rules' timeframe and on the higher timeframe (about 450 bars). If there is too little, the chart is refused and the panel says so.
• A symbol that allows trading and gives a usable tick value. The EA refuses a chart where it cannot work out a position size, and says why on the panel.

How to install and test it

1. Download the ZIP below and unzip it. It holds the Expert Advisor file (.ex5), a settings preset (.set) with an empty DRF Key, and INSTALL.txt with these steps.
2. In MetaTrader 5 choose File > Open Data Folder, open MQL5 > Experts, and copy the .ex5 file there. Back in MetaTrader, right-click Expert Advisors in the Navigator and choose Refresh.
3. Tools > Options > Expert Advisors: tick "Allow algorithmic trading" and "Allow WebRequest for listed URL", then add https://sync.donaldsonrf.com to the list. Nothing else is needed. Press OK.
4. Press the Algo Trading button in the top toolbar so it turns green.
5. Drag the Expert Advisor from the Navigator onto a chart. On the Common tab tick "Allow Algo Trading". On the Inputs tab type your DRF Key in the first input (optionally load the .set preset first).
6. Within about a minute the chart panel shows the state of your licence. If it says PAUSED, the panel tells you why. Test the EA on a demo account first. When everything works as you expect, use it on a real account.
7. The first time, attach it to a chart of a DEMO account. Orders are sent without any extra tick on a demo account.
8. Watch the panel on the chart. It shows the licence state, the account type, how many positions this EA has open and why it is not trading, if it is not.
9. When everything works as you expect on the demo account, you can use it on a real account: on the Inputs tab, tick "I confirm this is a real account I want to trade". Without the tick the EA sends no order on a real account.

The key: every DRF Expert Advisor needs a DRF Key, with a 7-day free trial. Every plan, and the trial, unlocks the whole Expert Advisor.

Safety behaviour

• One position at a time on the symbol by default (you can raise the number in the Filters group).
• Every order is sent with a stop loss and a take profit.
• The lot size comes from the risk percent and the stop distance. If the smallest lot of the symbol would risk more than 1.5 times your wish, the EA does not trade and says so.
• On a real account no order is sent until you tick the confirmation input. A demo account needs no tick.
• A wide spread, important news, the hours outside your trading window and an optional daily loss stop each hold back NEW trades.
• The magic number is an input (default in the block 26110001 to 26119999). A value outside that block makes the EA refuse to trade and say so.
• An invalid DRF Key pauses the EA: no NEW order is opened. It never removes itself from the chart and never closes a position because of the licence. A position that is already open keeps its stop, its target and the EA's own exit rules.
• Orders are retried only after temporary errors (requote, price change, timeout, lost connection). A refused order is not repeated blindly.

What can go wrong

The panel says PAUSED: no DRF Key entered.

Type your DRF Key in the first input (Inputs tab). The key looks like DRF-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.

The panel says the key could not be checked.

Check that https://sync.donaldsonrf.com is in Tools > Options > Expert Advisors > "Allow WebRequest for listed URL", that the terminal is online and that the key has not expired. Error 4014 in the Experts log means the address is missing from the list.

The panel says "REAL account: orders are blocked".

This is the safety lock. On any account that is not a demo, tick "I confirm this is a real account I want to trade" on the Inputs tab, after you have tested the EA on a demo account.

The EA does not trade and I do not know why.

Read the status line on the panel. The usual reasons are: outside the trading hours, important news close by, a wide spread, a position already open, the daily loss stop reached, or no setup yet. The rules only act on closed candles, so a setup can take hours or days to appear.

The panel says the chart is refused.

The reason is written on the panel and in the Experts log. Common causes: trading is disabled for the symbol, the symbol has too little history for the indicators (open the chart, scroll back or press Home to load history), a period input is nonsense, or two timeframes do not make sense together.

The panel says the magic number is outside the registered block.

Set "Magic number" back to its default or to a number between 26110001 and 26119999.

It says the smallest lot would risk too much.

The account is too small for the stop distance on this symbol, or the risk percent is too low for the smallest lot. Lower the stop distance, choose another symbol, or raise the risk percent only if you accept that risk.

I do not see any panel or object on the chart.

Press the Algo Trading button so it turns green, tick "Allow Algo Trading" on the Common tab, and look for the smiling face in the top right corner of the chart. Check the Experts tab of the Toolbox for messages.

The Strategy Tester behaves differently from a live chart.

The tester has no economic calendar, so the news filter is not applied there; the EA writes one line in the log to say so. Use the Tester build only in the tester, and do not read a tester run as a promise of any result.