'Breakeven Stop' works randomly

I'm having issues with the 'Breakeven Stop' signal.

When I first started using it a couple of weeks ago, it worked fine. But lately it hasn't been working very well. I know it's not a margin thing bc I use small position sizes and I've seen it work with 7 different currency positions open at the same time, and then not work with only one or two.

I've been having to sit in front of the computer and manually move my stops which defeats the purpose lol.

My computer is 5 yrs old and since I started using MC with auto trade I've been leaving it on for days at a time or even a week straight bc a lot of my orders trigger overnight. But I've also noticed its performance is degenerating at the same time: taking longer to load, MC freezing more often, computer freezing more often, needing more reboots, etc.

Ordered a Lenovo Thinkpad T440 which should be coming in next week, but is it a hardware thing or a software thing? I've added the Breakeven Stop as a separate signal (see attached image). Should it work better if coded into the entry order? Or does it not matter?

Currently running MC64 for TWS on windows 7 on a 5 yr old Asus Laptop with two external monitors.

Thanks,

Jason

I'm having issues with the 'Breakeven Stop' signal.

When I first started using it a couple of weeks ago, it worked fine. But lately it hasn't been working very well. I know it's not a margin thing bc I use small position sizes and I've seen it work with 7 different currency positions open at the same time, and then not work with only one or two.

I've been having to sit in front of the computer and manually move my stops which defeats the purpose lol.

My computer is 5 yrs old and since I started using MC with auto trade I've been leaving it on for days at a time or even a week straight bc a lot of my orders trigger overnight. But I've also noticed its performance is degenerating at the same time: taking longer to load, MC freezing more often, computer freezing more often, needing more reboots, etc.

Ordered a Lenovo Thinkpad T440 which should be coming in next week, but is it a hardware thing or a software thing? I've added the Breakeven Stop as a separate signal (see attached image). Should it work better if coded into the entry order? Or does it not matter?

Currently running MC64 for TWS on windows 7 on a 5 yr old Asus Laptop with two external monitors.

Thanks,

Jason

The amount of memory you have is more important than the speed of the CPU. If you are running Win7, you should have at least 8 GB of RAM.

Having said that, laptops usually have slower cpu than desktop computers. A new computer is always a welcome improvement.

I've added the Breakeven Stop as a separate signal (see attached image). Should it work better if coded into the entry order? Or does it not matter?

The 'Breakeven stop' signal uses the SetBreakeven keyword to exit a position.

The wiki page does not mention, however, if this keyword uses MultiCharts' currency conversion or the account's PL in base currency to determine whether a position has reached breakeven. If it doesn't use either of these two, it can seem to work randomly when applied to forex if it calculates the breakeven level wrong.

Personally, I don't use `SetBreakeven` but prefer to manage this inside the signal itself. That allows for more flexibility and makes the code more transparent.

Thanks Josh. Appreciate the response.

You raise a good point. The way the signal lets you set the breakeven stop is by the number of points from your 'base level' which I'm assuming is the entry point. So my understanding is that once price moves into profit by the number of points you set yourself the stop should move to break even.

Hopefully Multicharts can help with this?

I understand what you mean about controlling the stop yourself but it's not feasible for this type of trading bc orders are fired off upto 4 times per day on upto 14 pairs. I would have to literally sit in front of the computer from 4 am to 5 pm.

The wiki page does not mention, however, if this keyword uses MultiCharts' currency conversion or the account's PL in base currency to determine whether a position has reached breakeven. If it doesn't use either of these two, it can seem to work randomly when applied to forex if it calculates the breakeven level wrong.

In MultiCharts 9.0 Profit value for this reserved word is specified in the Base Currency of the Strategy/Portfolio.

So my understanding is that once price moves into profit by the number of points you set yourself the stop should move to break even.

That is correct.

Hi Henry thanks for your response.

Just to clarify, are you saying that inorder for the break even top to kick in consistently I'd have to use Multicharts 9?

Thanks,

Jason

If you do use setbreakeven note that if / when the conditions are met and a stop order is sent, any existing orders like an OCO will be cancelled and re-issued. In other words you'll lose your line queue.

Hi Henry thanks for your response.

Just to clarify, are you saying that inorder for the break even top to kick in consistently I'd have to use Multicharts 9?

Thanks,

Jason

You should be able to use this type of order in MultiCharts for TWS ok. If you have any issue that you can replicate and demonstrate to our engineers - please come to our live chat Monday-Friday 6:30 am - 1 pm EST to do that.

If you are unable to visit the live chat please send us the following to support@multicharts.com:
1) MultiCharts logs (if you have not restarted the platform. Logs from the previous run are erased when you start MC).
In MultiCharts go to Help->Feedback->Send logs. Please let me know that you have uploaded the logs.
If you want to send the logs manually please follow this guide: https://www.multicharts.com/trading-sof ... harts_Logs
2) In MultiCharts go to File->New->Open Order and position tracker window-> Orders tab->make sure you are not filtering the information in columns, then go to File->Export to excel.
Please also export the information from the Logs tab and send it to me for analysis.
3) Workspace you are using;
4) in PowerLanguage editor->File->Export->export with dependent functions the studies you are using in the workspaces you are providing. Attach the study export file;
5) Please attach a detailed issue description and highlight it on the screenshots.