MA Cross

The problem it addresses

A moving-average cross is the most common trend rule, yet there is no agreed way to exit it. A simple, written exit rule makes it easy to judge and to compare with other rules.

What it does

Enters when the fast exponential average (8) crosses the slow one (21), inside its own entry window (8 to 18 server time by default).

It leaves at the first closed candle that goes against the position, or at the ATR stop (1.6) or target (2.4). Because the first opposite candle closes the trade, most trades are short.

It opens and closes its own trades, one position at a time, with the magic number 26110004.

Who it is for: Traders who want a very simple trend rule with a clear exit, and who will test it on a demo account first.

Symbols and timeframes: Written to run on any symbol that allows trading; stops and lots adapt through the ATR. It reads closed bars of the chart's timeframe.

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

The simplest trend follower of the programme, and the benchmark that the other rules are compared with.

History

Version 1.00 is the first public version, built from the specification of the earlier Gold MA Cross tool on the shared DRF strategy base, with 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 (8 and 21)
• ATR (14)

What is included

• Entry on an average cross inside its own entry window
• Exit at the first candle that closes against the position
• Stop and target in ATR multiples
• Spread, news, trading-hours and daily-loss filters

What is not included

• It does not promise or imply any result
• No trailing stop and no break-even
• It does not run on a real account until you tick the confirmation input

How it works

1. On every new closed candle it checks whether the fast average has crossed the slow one.
2. A cross inside the entry window is an entry signal. The general trading hours, the spread, the news and the daily loss must also allow it.
3. It works out the lot from your risk percent and the stop distance and sends the order with a stop and a target.
4. On every new closed candle the exit runs before the entry: if the candle closed against the position, the position is closed.

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 on the chart for the indicators (about 100 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.