BLACK THUNDER — Complete Setup Guide
Link for the product: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/179545
Step 1 — Create your MQL5 account
Open your browser, go to mql5.com and click Register in the top right corner. Enter your login name, email address and password to complete registration. MQL5 sends a confirmation email, so open it and click the verification link, because an unverified account cannot purchase from the Market.
Once signed in, click your profile picture, choose Payments, and add a card or PayPal or top up your MQL5 wallet in advance. Doing this before you shop saves you from being interrupted at checkout. Keep your MQL5 login and password somewhere safe, because you will type them into MetaTrader 5 in Step 4 and you will need them again on the VPS.
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Step 2 — Download and install MetaTrader 5
Download MetaTrader 5 from your broker's website or from the Download section of mql5.com, as both give you the same platform. Run the installer and accept the defaults. Installation takes about a minute, after which MetaTrader 5 opens automatically and asks you to choose a trading server.
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Step 3 — Log in to your trading account
In MetaTrader 5 go to File, then Login to Trade Account. Type your broker account number in the Login field, your account password in the Password field, select your broker's server from the Server list and click OK. Once connected, the bottom right corner shows a live connection speed in kb per second. If it shows No connection, check the server name and password again.
BLACK THUNDER requires a hedging account, because it prepares a buy stop and a sell stop at the same time. To confirm yours, press Ctrl+T to open the Toolbox and look at the Trade tab, where the header shows either Hedge or Netting. If it shows Netting, ask your broker to open a hedging account instead. This single check prevents the most common setup problem.
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Step 4 — Sign in to MQL5 inside MetaTrader 5
This step links the terminal to your MQL5 account so it can reach the Market. Go to Tools, then Options, then open the Community tab. Enter your MQL5 login and password, tick Remember password and click OK. Your MQL5 username now appears in the top right of the terminal. If the Market tab later tells you that you are not authorised, return to this tab first, because it is almost always the cause.
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Step 5 — Find and download BLACK THUNDER
Press Ctrl+T to open the Toolbox and click the Market tab. Type BLACK THUNDER into the search box at the top right of that panel and press Enter, then click the product to open its page.
| Option | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Free Demo | Runs only inside the Strategy Tester | Testing the five backtestable modes before buying |
| Rent | Full use for a fixed period | Trying it on a live or demo chart short term |
| Buy | Permanent licence plus all future updates | Normal purchase |
Click Buy or Rent, confirm the payment, and the download starts automatically. When the button changes to Installed, the Expert Advisor is on your computer. Your purchase is tied to your MQL5 account rather than to one computer, so you can install it on your PC and on your VPS using the same login, within the activation limit shown on the product page.
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Step 6 — Open a chart and attach the EA
Press Ctrl+M to open Market Watch, right click inside it, choose Symbols, find XAUUSD and click Show. Close the dialog and drag XAUUSD from Market Watch onto the main area to open a chart. Any timeframe works, and M1 or M5 simply makes it easiest to watch a scalper operate.
Press Ctrl+N to open the Navigator, expand Expert Advisors and then expand Market, where BLACK THUNDER is listed. Drag it onto your XAUUSD chart or double click it, and a settings window opens. On the Common tab tick Allow Algo Trading, then switch to the Inputs tab, where you choose your mode in Step 7.
After you click OK, look at the top toolbar and make sure the Algo Trading button is green. If it is red, click it once to enable automated trading for the whole terminal. A smiling face in the top right corner of the chart confirms the EA is loaded and running.
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Step 7 — Choose your mode
On the Inputs tab the very first setting is Trade Mode, and this single choice defines how the EA behaves.
| Mode | Trading activity | Risk profile | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Mode (recommended) | Only inside fixed entry windows | Lowest activity | First time users wanting controlled exposure |
| Conservative | Steady, throughout the session | Moderate | Traders wanting consistent participation |
| Custom Conservative | Same engine with your own daily cap | Moderate, capped | Traders limiting trades per day |
| Aggressive | Frequent, whenever conditions qualify | Higher activity | Experienced users comfortable with more trades |
| Custom Aggressive | Same engine with your own daily cap | Higher, capped | Experienced users wanting a ceiling |
| News Mode | Short bursts around scheduled releases | Highest volatility exposure | Live and demo charts only |
Start with Safe Mode. Run it for a week on demo, watch how it behaves with your broker's spread and execution, then decide whether to add other modes.
MetaTrader supplies no economic calendar data to the Strategy Tester, so News Mode cannot place trades in a backtest. This is a platform limitation rather than a fault, and the panel states it clearly. Run News Mode on a live or demo chart, where it reads the calendar properly. The other five modes backtest normally.
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Step 8 — Set lot size and risk protection
Still on the Inputs tab, scroll to the lot settings. Set Lot Size Mode to Fixed Lot and set Fixed Lots to the smallest volume your broker allows, usually 0.01. Position size matters more than anything else for surviving a losing run, so start small and increase only after you have watched the EA on your own account. If you prefer the lot to grow with your balance, set Lot Size Mode to Auto Lot and configure the balance step, the lot added per step and the maximum lot ceiling.
| Setting | What it does | Suggested starting value |
|---|---|---|
| Stop new trades after daily loss limit | Halts new entries once the day's loss reaches your limit | Enabled |
| Max daily loss in percent | Percentage of the day's starting balance that triggers the stop | 1 to 2 |
| Pause after N consecutive losses | Stops new entries after a losing run | Enabled |
| Consecutive losses that trigger a pause | How many losses in a row | 3 |
Leave the Max Spread Filter switched off unless you have a specific reason to use it, because setting it too tight can block entries during exactly the fast conditions a scalper is built for. Click OK to apply.
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Step 9 — Verify the first run
Look at the on chart panel, where the ACTIVE MODE row shows the mode you selected and three clock rows appear underneath it.
| Panel row | What it shows | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| LOCAL (PC) | Your computer clock | Matches your own wall clock |
| SERVER GMT±X | Broker clock and its detected offset | Matches the time in Market Watch |
| WINDOW GMT±X | The clock the entry windows use | Green means no correction is applied |
Now press Ctrl+T to open the Toolbox and click the Experts tab, where the startup report confirms the trade mode, the magic number, the order comment and the detected broker clock. These lines are your proof that the EA has correctly identified your broker, so read them once at every new setup.
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Step 10 — Running several modes together if need. Mostly one mode is enough
Each of the six modes carries its own magic number, so every mode manages only the orders it opened. A position opened by Aggressive is trailed and closed by Aggressive alone, and Safe Mode cannot see it, modify it or close it. That is what makes it safe to run all six together on one symbol.
To set this up, open a new chart of the same pair by dragging XAUUSD from Market Watch again, so that you have one chart for each mode. Drag BLACK THUNDER from the Navigator onto that new chart, and on the Inputs tab select a different Trade Mode from the one used on your other charts. Click OK and repeat for each mode you want to run.
| Chart | Trade Mode | Magic number |
|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD 1 | Conservative | 453426723 |
| XAUUSD 2 | Custom Conservative | 546812934 |
| XAUUSD 3 | Aggressive | 637461745 |
| XAUUSD 4 | Custom Aggressive | 725903618 |
| XAUUSD 5 | Safe Mode | 773459913 |
| XAUUSD 6 | News Mode | 881120347 |
Leave these at their defaults unless you have a specific reason to change them, and if you do change one, make sure all six stay different. The EA refuses to start and names the clash if two modes share a number, which protects you from the mistake.
Size your lots for the total rather than for one chart. Six modes running together means up to six independent positions and six separate risk budgets, so if 0.01 is right for one mode then running all six is closer to 0.06 of combined exposure at peak. Reduce your per chart lot accordingly.
Once everything is running, save the layout by right clicking any chart and choosing Profiles, then Save As, and name it BLACK THUNDER 6 MODES. This lets you restore the whole arrangement in one click later.
Leave these at their defaults unless you have a specific reason to change them, and if you do change one, make sure all six stay different. The EA refuses to start and names the clash if two modes share a number, which protects you from the mistake.
Size your lots for the total rather than for one chart. Six modes running together means up to six independent positions and six separate risk budgets, so if 0.01 is right for one mode then running all six is closer to 0.06 of combined exposure at peak. Reduce your per chart lot accordingly.
Once everything is running, save the layout by right clicking any chart and choosing Profiles, then Save As, and name it BLACK THUNDER 6 MODES. This lets you restore the whole arrangement in one click later.
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Step 11 — Move everything to a VPS
A VPS keeps the EA trading when your computer is off and reduces execution delay, which matters for a scalping strategy. Configure everything first, because the migration copies your charts, your EA settings and your profile exactly as they are at that moment, so finish Steps 6 to 10 before you start here.
Press Ctrl+N to open the Navigator, right click on your trading account number at the top and choose Register a Virtual Server. In the wizard, choose the server location nearest to your broker's trading server, as the wizard usually recommends one based on measured latency and the lowest latency option is the right choice for a scalper. Select your rental period and complete the payment. When the wizard reaches the migration step, choose to migrate charts with Expert Advisors and indicators and confirm.
After migration, switch off Algo Trading in your local terminal by clicking the Algo Trading button so that it turns red. The VPS is now the one trading, and if both the VPS and your local terminal run the same EA with the same magic numbers they will both try to manage the same positions.
To confirm the VPS is live, right click the account in the Navigator and open the virtual server entry, which shows the status and an activity log. Whenever you later change a setting on your local charts, right click the account and choose Synchronize Experts and Indicators to push the change to the VPS, because changes made locally do not reach the VPS on their own.
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Step 12 — Final check
| # | Check | Where to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MQL5 account verified with a payment method | mql5.com profile |
| 2 | Trading account shows Hedge, not Netting | Toolbox, Trade tab header |
| 3 | MQL5 login entered in the terminal | Tools, Options, Community |
| 4 | BLACK THUNDER shows as Installed | Toolbox, Market tab |
| 5 | EA visible under Expert Advisors and Market | Navigator |
| 6 | Smiling face on every chart | Top right of each chart |
| 7 | Algo Trading button is green | Main toolbar |
| 8 | Correct mode in ACTIVE MODE row | On chart panel |
| 9 | WINDOW clock row is green | On chart panel |
| 10 | Lot size and daily loss limit set | Inputs tab |
| 11 | Every chart running a different mode | Panel on each chart |
| 12 | Layout saved as a profile | Charts, Profiles |
| 13 | VPS migrated and running | Navigator, right click account |
| 14 | Local Algo Trading switched off | Main toolbar |
