Steve Hopwood's new AshFX V2 auto-trading robot

[SteveHopwood]

Attached are the new version of my AshFX V2 trading robot and its associated user guide. The robot will trade any time frame. The user guide contains a description of the inputs. There is a section for coders at the end; I would appreciate your contributions about the points I raise there.

Three important points:

1. I am assuming that anybody reading this has read enough of Ash's thread to be using the system manually. If this is not true in your case, then go to http://forexmoments.com/forums/syste...ersion-ii.html to catch up. Don't try to use the robot without this understanding because you will not understand what it is doing.
2. Please keep discussion here limited to the activity of the robot. It is best to keep discussion of manual trading to Ash's thread where everyone can benefit from it, except when you are making points that could improve the robot's success.
3. Although this is a auto-trading robot, I do not recommend leaving it unsupervised. At the start of each new candle, check that trades have been sent that you actually want. Check that part-close and stop loss manipulation is in accordance with your wishes and normal trading practises.

This robot is not yet running on my live account. I shall need a few weeks on demo first, to make sure everything is working correctly. It appears to be, but we never know what bugs are lurking until the bite us.

Significant improvements on my earlier attempts are these:

1. The robot works :D
2. It considers candle and wick lengths as part of the trade-filtering process. This needs refining.

The most helpful development this robot could make is to be able to take into consideration major points of support and resistance. This is a central feature of Ash's manual trading but I have no idea how to implement it into a trading robot. Any ideas from coders would be most welcome.

So, those of you interested in having a robot do the trading for you, put this one onto a demo and see how it goes.

:)

[sahars]

Thanks Steve..for the EA. I'll look into it...;)

Cheers

Sahars

[robmrj]

Hy Steve,
your work is outstanding, as always.

I had the same problem with s/r levels and still working on it.

I was thinking if it could be a good idea to have major s/r level as an imput via a set of extern doubles until we find the way to automatically detect them.
It would olso give the possibility to the trader to costomize the strategy by chosing its own detected S/R, fib etc. levels.

It would make the ea not a "run and forget" type of ea, but it could be a start until we find a way to automate things.

Regards

Roberto

[Ezzy]

Originally Posted by SteveHopwood

Attached are the new version of my AshFX V2 trading robot and its associated user guide. The robot will trade any time frame. The user guide contains a description of the inputs. There is a section for coders at the end; I would appreciate your contributions about the points I raise there.

Three important points:

1. I am assuming that anybody reading this has read enough of Ash's thread to be using the system manually. If this is not true in your case, then go to http://forexmoments.com/forums/syste...ersion-ii.html to catch up. Don't try to use the robot without this understanding because you will not understand what it is doing.
2. Please keep discussion here limited to the activity of the robot. It is best to keep discussion of manual trading to Ash's thread where everyone can benefit from it, except when you are making points that could improve the robot's success.
3. Although this is a auto-trading robot, I do not recommend leaving it unsupervised. At the start of each new candle, check that trades have been sent that you actually want. Check that part-close and stop loss manipulation is in accordance with your wishes and normal trading practises.

This robot is not yet running on my live account. I shall need a few weeks on demo first, to make sure everything is working correctly. It appears to be, but we never know what bugs are lurking until the bite us.

Significant improvements on my earlier attempts are these:

1. The robot works :D
2. It considers candle and wick lengths as part of the trade-filtering process. This needs refining.

The most helpful development this robot could make is to be able to take into consideration major points of support and resistance. This is a central feature of Ash's manual trading but I have no idea how to implement it into a trading robot. Any ideas from coders would be most welcome.

So, those of you interested in having a robot do the trading for you, put this one onto a demo and see how it goes.

:)

Hi Steve

thanks for your efforts and persistence in this project, I will follow the thread and hopefully assist where I can.

PS - I like the improvements you are making particularly No 1 :D

Cheers
Ezzy

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by robmrj

Hy Steve,
your work is outstanding, as always.

I had the same problem with s/r levels and still working on it.

I was thinking if it could be a good idea to have major s/r level as an imput via a set of extern doubles until we find the way to automatically detect them.
It would olso give the possibility to the trader to costomize the strategy by chosing its own detected S/R, fib etc. levels.

It would make the ea not a "run and forget" type of ea, but it could be a start until we find a way to automate things.

Regards

Roberto

Cheers Roberto. I will implement this in the absence of any automated suggestions from other contributors. I can add the facility for a few s\r levels and a to-trade-within-x-pips thingy. We can take it from there.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Ezzy

Hi Steve

thanks for your efforts and persistence in this project, I will follow the thread and hopefully assist where I can.

PS - I like the improvements you are making particularly No 1 :D

Cheers
Ezzy

:D:D:D

I have had another idea, but will take time to think about it.

:)

[Vetmxracer]

Steve Im not getting any trades backtesting, both 2 different brokers any tf, no errors.?? Thanks.

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Vetmxracer

Steve Im not getting any trades backtesting, both 2 different brokers any tf, no errors.?? Thanks.

I made sure the ea is working by running it through backtesting, then onto a demo so I know it is working ok.

One thing I haven't done, that I shall add, is code a check that your chosen lot size is acceptable to the broker. I have uploaded a minimum lot-size checking script to post 1, so download that and check.

If this doesn't work, then please post your set file here and a picture of a chart with the ea running on it.

:)

[Vetmxracer]

Works now . I had 0 in the birthday. Would the next higher TF psar be a useful filter? Thanks, Todd

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Vetmxracer

Works now . I had 0 in the birthday. Would the next higher TF psar be a useful filter? Thanks, Todd

I know that some contributors to Ash's thread like to consult the higher tf, so this is a filter I am happy to add. Likewise the lower tf, both with turn-off options.

:)

[Egwig]

Originally Posted by SteveHopwood

I made sure the ea is working by running it through backtesting, then onto a demo so I know it is working ok.

One thing I haven't done, that I shall add, is code a check that your chosen lot size is acceptable to the broker. I have uploaded a minimum lot-size checking script to post 1, so download that and check.

If this doesn't work, then please post your set file here and a picture of a chart with the ea running on it.

:)

Hi Steve.
Perhaps my settings need adjusting.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Egwig

2009.09.03 16:17:07
AshFX V2 auto-trading robot by SteveHopwood EURGBP..,M15
inputs: GVI="-----General trade inputs-----";
TradeLong=true;
TradeShort=true;
Lot=0.2;
TradeComment="AshFX V2";
Birthday=29071938;
MaxSpreadAllowed=30;
clf="----Candle length and wick filters----"; CandleLengthLookBackBars=100; AllowableWickPercentage=25;
mi="-----Open trade management inputs-----";
slf="----Stop Loss Manipulation----";
JSL="Jumping stop loss settings";
JumpingStop=true; JumpingStopPips=200; JumpAfterBreakevenOnly=true;
pci="Part-cl

I just noticed another point.
As the wick length alters in relation to the main body of the current candle the screen stats show the relevant pip values but the percentage figure remains always at zero.
You can see this in the attached jpg.

[wrp123]

Hi

Thanks for the hard work.

I was wondering if would be possible to see the output from the backtests? It would be good to get some idea of the profitability of the system in terms of its risk/ reward ratio etc. I've done some manual testing, but the back test would allow you to go back much further

Cheers

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Egwig

Hi Steve.
Perhaps my settings need adjusting.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Egwig

2009.09.03 16:17:07
AshFX V2 auto-trading robot by SteveHopwood EURGBP..,M15
inputs: GVI="-----General trade inputs-----";
TradeLong=true;
TradeShort=true;
Lot=0.2;
TradeComment="AshFX V2";
Birthday=29071938;
MaxSpreadAllowed=30;
clf="----Candle length and wick filters----"; CandleLengthLookBackBars=100; AllowableWickPercentage=25;
mi="-----Open trade management inputs-----";
slf="----Stop Loss Manipulation----";
JSL="Jumping stop loss settings";
JumpingStop=true; JumpingStopPips=200; JumpAfterBreakevenOnly=true;
pci="Part-cl

I just noticed another point.
As the wick length alters in relation to the main body of the current candle the screen stats show the relevant pip values but the percentage figure remains always at zero.
You can see this in the attached jpg.

You are trying to use a robot that trades a daily system on a 15 min chart. The values returned by a variety of functions are too small to be used for trading.

I stated originally that the robot can be used on any time frame. This is clearly incorrect, but I assumed users of the robot would understand the manual system and not try to use it on such a low tf. Many apologies for this.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Vetmxracer

Works now . I had 0 in the birthday. Would the next higher TF psar be a useful filter? Thanks, Todd

Todd, I have thought about this since my previous reply.

Over at FF and the original incarnation of my robot, we thought it was working correctly. Contributors asked for more and more filters and I coded them. None of them were a part of Ash's system. The robot got more and more complicated. After a while, we filtered ourselves into the ground and I removed them all. Shortly after that, I gave up altogether.

So, for now I am not going to code the higher TF psar as a further filter. The TradeLong\Short inputs allow users to do this manually.

I hope you understand.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by wrp123

Hi

Thanks for the hard work.

I was wondering if would be possible to see the output from the backtests? It would be good to get some idea of the profitability of the system in terms of its risk/ reward ratio etc. I've done some manual testing, but the back test would allow you to go back much further

Cheers

All I used the backtester for was to make sure the robot was working properly. I had no interest in the actual results, so I saved none of the reports.

:)

[moondog]

Thanks Steve,
Good to see you over here, I will install and do initial test over this weekend and then hopefully run on 24/5 demo for a couple of weeks and provide feedback as needed.
Many thanks again for contributing you valuable experitise to this project.
Moondog

[Egwig]

Originally Posted by SteveHopwood

You are trying to use a robot that trades a daily system on a 15 min chart. The values returned by a variety of functions are too small to be used for trading.

I stated originally that the robot can be used on any time frame. This is clearly incorrect, but I assumed users of the robot would understand the manual system and not try to use it on such a low tf. Many apologies for this.

:)

Thanks Steve.

I am fully au fait with the system but as the size of the stops scare me a bit I welcomed the possibility of smaller stops and targets on my usual time frames.
I'll test it out on M30 and H1 to see how it goes.

Egwig

[Graale]

Hi
Why does not a robot work in a tester?
Errors are not present in a magazine

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Graale

Hi
Why does not a robot work in a tester?
Errors are not present in a magazine

Suggest that you post a copy of the magazine(journal) and your tester EA setttings so that we can advise further, also are you on a 4 or 5 digit broker?
Moondog

[elway]

Steve,

Thanks for the work on the EA. As I understand the CandleLength function... the EA won't place the order if the signal candle length is greater than the average length. It seems that function would cut out a lot of good trades, for example, where the candle was 10% or even just 1% greater than the average length. Is it possible to make this function where the variable specifies the maximum percent over the average length where we would still want to take a trade?

ew

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by elway

Steve,

Thanks for the work on the EA. As I understand the CandleLength function... the EA won't place the order if the signal candle length is greater than the average length. It seems that function would cut out a lot of good trades, for example, where the candle was 10% or even just 1% greater than the average length. Is it possible to make this function where the variable specifies the maximum percent over the average length where we would still want to take a trade?

ew

Tis done. Read the user guide for the new input.

I do not appear to be able to edit my post no 1, so I have attached everything here.

The latest version also has code to check that the lot size and stop loss is allowed by the broker, and edits the input or stop calculation if not. Contributors should be able to play with lower time frames now, if they want; the stops will often be bigger then the previous swing high\low.

It also has a hedging option - again, read the user guide. I am not sure if this is running properly so it is turned off by default.

I have fully described the hedging system it uses in Ash's thread. The only difference is that the robot sends hedge trades rather than setting pending ones, and handles the closure of profitable hedge trades itself. The problem with porting the code from a different ea is that the robot has to use the hedge rules to manage the hedged pair, not AshFX rules. Making sure all these are turned off when hedging kicks in is proving more complicated than I imagine.

If anybody knows how I can edit post 1, please sing out.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

I spotted a couple of changes that needed making to the hedging code. So far as I can tell, it is working correctly now but am not certain. Try it on demo and report any bugs that do appear.

:)

[wrp123]

Hi Steve

Had to download the latest version of metatrader to make get the EA to work, so it may be that or the EA, but...

I've tried to load it in the chart and it says "You cannot run this robot until you have filled in the birthday input. The robot needs this to generate a magic number for the trades. Please reload the robot with the birthday input filled in"

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by wrp123

Hi Steve

Had to download the latest version of metatrader to make get the EA to work, so it may be that or the EA, but...

I've tried to load it in the chart and it says "You cannot run this robot until you have filled in the birthday input. The robot needs this to generate a magic number for the trades. Please reload the robot with the birthday input filled in"

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help

Yes. Fill in the birthday input. Details in the user guide.

[SteveHopwood]

I don't think the robot should have taken this trade - wick looks a bit on the long side.

Possible bug here, folks.

:)

[wrp123]

Apols Steve

I'm so used to the off the shelf robots that I thought I didnt I need to read the instructions. More the fool me.

Great work - All good now.

[SteveHopwood]

There is a bug in the wick length percentage calculation - a typo that means the robot always thinks the percentage is zero.

This is fixed in the attachment.

I have also added code to display the list of impending trades in the chart display. We can see at a glance the trades the robot is hoping to send at the start of the next candle.

:)

[wades-world]

What's the latest version of this EA now?

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by wades-world

What's the latest version of this EA now?

Words fail me.

:)

[Vetmxracer]

You should name it Waldo. :p:p

[AshFX]

Originally Posted by SteveHopwood

Words fail me.

:)

Lol, funny stuff.

[polocoach]

Steve thanks for your work on this, I will test and post results :D

[Shiva]

Hey Steve, great work and thanks:) Are you planning to build position management in this EA like ur other EA?

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Shiva

Hey Steve, great work and thanks:) Are you planning to build position management in this EA like ur other EA?

I just wanted to make sure the robot worked as intended before starting to add the useful little bits. I shall add the money-management module from the other ea, along with the sleep period after a trade closes.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by Shiva

Hey Steve, great work and thanks:) Are you planning to build position management in this EA like ur other EA?

As soon as I started to adapt the original mm module from the old ea, I realised that the dynamic stop loss causes immense problems.

Calculating a lot size must take into account the stop loss. When this is fixed at x pips there is no problem. When it depends on the high\low of the previous swing that is no problem either but here is the killer; the robot both has to adjust the Close_Lots and Preserve_Lots settings [I]and[I] have a way of 'remembering' them in the event of a disconnect or system shut-down.

I have decided to leave the lot size as a manually-entered setting.

:)

[SteveHopwood]

I have added horizontal line support and resistance to the robot. Details on page 3 of the user guide.

This has only just gone on demo, so I am not sure the functions are bug-free. Please report any anomalies here.

:)

[bill]

Wow Steve, Nice, I am just in awe of your programming skills.

If it's allright, I will be testing your robot on an Alpari US demo acct. (I am in the US if that makes any difference.) I will run it on all the major and minor currency pairs. I will try to report out (Here) every couple days or so. If there are any certain presets or special setting you would like used , Let me know.

Bill

[rewing]

Thanks for your hard work Steve....I have a question regarding the Jumping Stop....I see the JumpingStopPips=10 which I assume is the increment. At what point does the jumping stop start. In this case, would it start at +10 pips and set stop to 0 then stay 0 until pips = +20, at which point it would jump to +10?

I am also intrigued at the Hedging function. I will try it out on my FXDD demo & see what happens

GREAT WORK
Ron

[SteveHopwood]

Originally Posted by bill

Wow Steve, Nice, I am just in awe of your programming skills.

If it's allright, I will be testing your robot on an Alpari US demo acct. (I am in the US if that makes any difference.) I will run it on all the major and minor currency pairs. I will try to report out (Here) every couple days or so. If there are any certain presets or special setting you would like used , Let me know.

Bill

Cheers Bill. The robot is as close as possible to a representation of Ash's system as I can get, designed to trade the Daily candle. I know it is working well from my own demo.

I am short of demo power and I know there are people who trade the system on the 4H. If you have the spare capacity, then a 4H demo would be a help.

:)

[wades-world]

I was in a hurry trying to get my 13mos to the bathroom if you know what I mean, and I had to post something to download the EA. Very nice by the way, I hope it does as good as the system. The last signal from Ash on GBPUSD netted a VERY nice profit. Thanks Ash.