Hello to EOTPro!

Richard has decided to move on from EOTPro. I wish him the best in his new trading adventures! He’s always been a great friend and mentor to me, and I know I’ve needed it. Richard’s departure has opened up a need for a developer at EOTPro. I’m starting to slowly try to fill Richard’s shoes. It’s a tall order, but I’m doing my best. Along with development for EOTPro proper (hence my scarcity here), I’ll be finishing and releasing my automation for Bill’s Arrows over the next month. That way, EOT members will be able to have the indicators from their subscription with EOT, and get automation, including customization of rules and support from me. I still plan on blogging here as my time permits, and in developing for Think or Swim and Ninja separately from EOT as I have in the past. (Of course, their proprietary info shall remain proprietary and will not be shared.) More info to come in the near future!

If you haven’t checked EOT out, hit the picture link below!

EOT Automation Status Update: Good Progress

Okay, so here’s where I am: The strategy is working with ATM templates. It takes the first arrow after a color change. I have also started creating a GUI for managing the strategy parameters outside of the built-in Ninja strategy inputs area. This is because we lose the saved real-time data like EOTSVCommitPaintBar every time we load, modify or restart the strategy. The strategy starts over, but the chart plot stays, causing them to no longer be trading the same thing. The new GUI is vital to make sure we can start the strategy in the morning at the same time as the chart, and leave it alone all day so that they match. This has also been the biggest delay item as I had to reverse engineer part of the Ninja Chart API through trial and error and deal with inserting my form classes into the Ninja namespaces.

I still have more to build, but here’s where it is right now:

Basically, when you load the AutoTrade strategy on a chart, it will create a button on the toolbar (see example on the chart toolbar, called “EOT Strategy Panel”). This button will open the Auto Trade Strategy Controls (see example form floating over the chart). You can minimize the controls, move them around, etc. If you close the control form, then clicking the toolbar button brings it back, but resets the control states. The control form will let you specify if the strategy is armed to enter trades (or disarmed–just watching), as well as a start time and an ending time. Not yet finished are options to take only longs, only shorts, or entries in both directions, as well as the ATM strategy template to use. I will also be able to add custom inputs as the need arises for individual projects.

I still have to build the rest of the GUI, hook up the inputs to the strategy and do some testing, but the hard part is over (I hope). I should have a release before the end of the week. Thank you very much for your patience with this very delayed process. My schedule and learning curve have not been cooperating, but it looks clear from here!

EOT Automation: It Shall Be Worth The Wait

EOT folks: The delays will be worth it. I’m making progress on being able to start and stop the Bill’s Arrows strategy without having to erase the day’s stored real-time values. You will have a separate form that comes up in Ninja when you initialize the strategy that will let you change parameters and arm and disarm the strategy on the fly. I can make the Ninja strategy create a form, like this:

But I’m still trying to figure out how to get the Ninja strategy to talk to the form it creates. I’m doing something wrong with the classes (any C# gurus out there?)

UPDATE: It’s working! I can arm and disarm the strategy from the form. The problem was that I didn’t link up the event handler to my button. Details, details. With this capability, I’ve solved the biggest automation problem. Now in the premarket, you initialize the strategy, F5 the chart to refresh the indicators so they are visually in sync with what the strategy is calculating against, and just leave it alone for the rest of the day.

Even though it “works” now, it still needs some more development. I want to try to integrate it into the chart toolbar if I can. Otherwise, the form only comes up when you initialize the strategy, so if you close it, you’re screwed. Plus, it doesn’t go away on it’s own, so I need to make it smart enough to not make a new one if an old one already exists. Also, I need to place all the operational parameters of the strategy on the form instead of just the “armed” switch. That way they can be adjusted without screwing up the saved real-time indicator values.

Thanks for your patience, it will be worth it in the end!

EOT Auto Trade Status

A quick status: I’ve received some guidance from Richard and made some changes. I’ve tested the strategy on lots of simulated data and it looks good. The strategy matches the displayed indicators as long as you refresh your chart (F5) as soon as you apply the strategy. I’ve sent out another update to my beta testers. If all goes well, I can release the first version tomorrow.

EOT Release Delayed

My apologies to EOT members. I’ve had some health issues at the end of last week that delayed my release of the Bill’s Arrows automation. I had a root canal and then lived through “The Tooth That Wouldn’t Die”, some sort of dental zombie horror B-movie. It’s finally subsiding, so I’m just getting back to normal.

Anyway, I want to assure that I don’t release something that’s not ready. I’ve got more testing to do. If you are an EOT member, and you are willing to be a beta tester (just run the thing on your chart in sim mode, no real money) and report back to me any bugs or other feedback, send me an email and I’ll get you a beta copy.

And Thinkscript crowd, I’ve got the three-line break project lined up next. I still love you guys too. 🙂