It won't back test.
Any suggestions?

thank you finesse, I have download it.

Hi there Traders

Ive just registered with this forum and have gone through all the material related to the Universal MA. I have started demo trading this EA using Gbp/Usd on a M15 chart using different parameters with no success at all.

Moving Average set as EMA 5 and EMA 12 respectively on close. Have adjusted other settings on 5 other charts to get varying results with no success.

Problems arise when the MA whipsaw and the EA enters and exits immediately.
Have adjusted the exit settings also to compensate for this with no change.

Anyone out there having any success with this EA. Like to chat on settings used so we can correlate.

Idea is great! Introducing an ADX also in the EA to align the MA cross and ADX cross over ( when ADX strength value hits >20) will make this EA a beaut.

More refining is needed.

Cheers to the EA developer.

It seems like developments have stopped on this EA. I use 5/12 with the third ma in play(100) to keep on the right side of the trend, as there is no adx. You may have more success with GbpJpy. What I would like, but don't expect, is a exit MA cross so go in at 5/12 and come out with a 12/35.
Nick

Hey Nick

Thanks for the reply,

Yes this forum has stopped as im sure people are not having positive results. I am testing eurusd on 4 charts Time frame 30min with no success. Am varying the paramaters in the EA yet still to reflect positive results.

An ideal EA would incorporate an ADX indicator using the ADX strength value when it hits >20 as a more conclusive signal for entry. The MA cross over sounds great but can get false signals during whipsaw.

What parameters have you set up Nick using the Gbpjpy pair.

Cheers buddy

I'm using 5/13 LWA with 133 in the third MA with countertrend set to False. I don't get too obsessed with finding a Golden Ratio. Higher crosses are more indicative of how long you will hold open the trade. Intraday with these numbers or 12/29 if you can hold for more than a day.
I was looking at the EurUsd pair and it spends a lot of time over the past weeks going sideways, if using this EA in that type of situation you may want to consider using MinCrossDistance set a bit higher so you are not entering on noise and getting whipped. (That pair at he moment looks to be good for breakout trading.) I don't use this EA as fully automated. I choose a direction from the daily chart and allow the EA to trade that way only ,and exit manually at a support/resistance line. I tend to prefer going on the hourly and use the 15min as a heads up. I'm not sure I would trust any EA to trade my cash without me having the final say-so. This EA saves me from having to watch the screen. I havn't started using this with real money yet.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Nick

Thanks Nick

Ive been testing on the M30 timeframe with 50-50 results.

My paramaters are

SL = 40
TP = 15
FMA = 5
SMA = 21
Min Cross = 3
Max Look Up = 5
Stop & Reverse = F
Pure SAR = F
Exit on Cross = F
Reverse Condition = F
Confirmed on Entry = F
One Entry Bar = T
Max Open Trade = 1
min price Dist = 5

Ive have tried mixing the parameters up to see what happens. I will try the hour chart this week then will decide either to scrap it or further test.

Thanks Nick

Hi KappaForex,
Please try out USDJPY with your combination just taking the shorts. Backtesting (by eye with plotted ma's) it trends well. I can understand your fear of whipsaws as I have them also but on a 50/50 win loss ratio, won't your tp/sl variables lead to a bottom-line loss? With a 5/21 cross, I would expect a higher TP. Whatever happens , I look forward to reading your outcome and conclusions, once you have finished your experimenting.
Best Wishes, Nick

hello there Dave,

I have downloaded the EA to the MEtatrader4 system. It gives alerts when the MA's cross but its not starting trades. There are no signs on the charts, no entry of trades entered. Can you assist with this. It shows on the charts for the Strategy Tester, showing entries and exits, but not on charts with my demo account.

Awaiting your early reply....mgnosbod

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and came across this UniversalMACross EA.

First of all...thanks to the many here who offer their great help and suggestions...big hearts and good people!

My personal thanks and appreciation to FireDave for this nifty little EA with lots of potential...

It is a very simple EA yet very elegant in it's simplicity....and it has a lot to offer for everyone to customize their own personal strategy. It's been fun to play with and test the EA! I was also impressed with FireDave's personal efforts to include so many requests...outstanding support , efforts, and coding skills by FireDave!

I ran many tests in STester Visual Mode...and testing all the options was really overwhelming... I tried many various combination's - but changing the StopLoss and TakeProfit, SAR, and the other factors mostly resulted in poor performance...

It got further and further from being a simple MA crossing program and it was hard to keep track of all the possible combination's and test results...data bits kept spilling out of my ear drums all night....even when I was sleeping...lol!

Actually my best results came from using mostly defaults (see below).

I was able to get good repeatable results with a profit factor 1.9 to 3.5 - with more wins than losses (although the losses were big using the defaults). It is a good simple EA for dependable entries...and I would be comfortable with using this "As Is" (any EA with a profit factor > 2.0 is a winner)...but with semi-auto trading with me keeping watch to stop the big losses...

The beauty of this EA - Entries were very consistent and accurate with the MA crossings..and broad MA settings prevents the MA's from whipping across each other with false signals and bad entries. On the other hand, longer time frames lessens the trade opportunities.

But the real challenge was finding good exits - and using the various options included I was unsuccessful as I stated above.

I then tested many other indicators to try and find better exits that do not involve complicated settings....and I think I found one that is simple and workable for finding exits with smaller losses. It can be easily applied as a manual trading strategy as well.

Assumptions for the EA - not looking for the 100% Holy Grail...yet!
Goal - Small losing trades are OK with 80% or more consistent winners for accumulating steady profits in my account...!

Simple EXIT Strategy Using Keltner Channels

UniversalMACross EA - Settings
Works best on major pairs with H1 time frame (smaller time frames seem to have more losses, longer time frames less trades)
All Defaults except:
Lots = 2
FastMA = 3
Slow MA = 80
Stop and Reverse = False
ConfirmOnEntry=False
(*MA's - other good results with 3/55 and 3/100)


Keltner Channel - Settings
MA = 10
MA Mode = 0
Price Mode = 5
K = .2
No ATR

Using Keltner Channels For Exits

Run the UniversalMACross EA, add the Keltner Channel indicator, and let the EA place trades.

EXIT #1 - Normal Exits with built in settings/defaults - trades exit normally according to settings, most result in profit trades
EXIT #2 - Keltner Channels Exits - to limit loss trades resulting from late entries and trend reversals
* Simple Keltner Channels Exit Strategy
* When the Keltner Channel MA10 Midline crosses back over the FastMA3 line
...EXIT the trade.
BUY Exit - MA3 going DOWN crossing Keltner MA10 midline going UP
SELL Exit - MA3 going Up crossing Keltner MA10 midline going DOWN

Keltner Channel Exits works for both BUY and SELL exits - It creates simple dependable Exits with fairly small controlled losses.

This KC midline Exit will stop a big loss and will increase the profit factor by lessening the loss amounts and draw downs. In some cases, it may limit a win trade as it rises or descends through the KChannel midline...but (for me)...safer now is better than sorry later.

After the trade Exits, the EA program will look for the next Entry crossing pattern to place the next trade.

REQUEST - Can someone please add this Keltner Channel Exit feature to the UniversalMACross EA...? It could make this EA a pretty little consistent winner...without all the problems and complications of combining all the other factors...at least for me. Simple is better!

Thanks (especially to FireDave for his original efforts!),
Robert

Note1 - Assumptions on Testing regarding Model Quality and Mismatched Chart Errors
Testing many pairs and time frames using the Strategy Tester Visual Mode was/is very very time consuming - Testing goal was to find and confirm new Exit strategies...not test model quality. It is assumed that better model quality will increase the number of trades and the exit strategy will work the same on those additional trades as well. Besides...even with poor model quality...any EA's with a profit factor above 2.0 shows very good results to start with...and can only get better with better model quality!

Note2 - Attached chart shows White Keltner Channel lines and Red MA lines created by the EA. Chart shows 2 losing trades (Buy and Sell). Default StopLoss = 100, but Keltner Channel midline Exits would keep the losses smaller.

God Bless and Good Luck To All in Trading and Sharing in God's Abundance...!

Strategy Tester RESULTS - 27 DAY TEST
UniversalMACross EA
EUR/USD H1 - 6/1/09-6/27/09
Basic default settings per above, FXDD Broker
Deposit $10,000.00
Total net profit $2,854.57
Gross profit $4,855.93 - Gross loss -$2,001.36
Profit factor 2.43 Expected payoff 219.58
Absolute drawdown 364.07
Maximal drawdown 1541.36 (12.15%) Relative drawdown 13.39% (1490.00)
Total trades 13
Profit trades (% of total) 11 (84.62%) - Loss trades (% of total) 2 (15.38%)

Attached Images

	UnivMACross H1 - With Basic Defaults - StrategyTester.gif (7.9 KB, 165 views)
	UnivMACross -Keltner Channel Exits.gif (26.2 KB, 556 views)