Vtos Unified

Overview

VTOS EA is a trend-following expert advisor built around the Volatility Oscillator system. It detects when price momentum breaks out of its normal range and enters trades in the direction of that breakout. Additional entries are added as the trend continues, and all positions are closed when the oscillator returns to its neutral zone.

The EA works on any timeframe and any tradeable symbol. No external indicator files are needed — all calculations run inside the EA itself.

Setup:

Place the EA on your chart. let it initialise. Read the AUTO-CALC _VtosStep and AUTO-CALC _PriceStep.

Then play around with the values on Auto-calc = False to get the correct behavior, the auto calc values are your start values and the ideal manual values must be within 2x or 3x the auto calc value up or down. i have noticed that backtesting gives very different results than just forward testing.

I never change any other settings. I just leave them on default.

How it works

The EA continuously calculates a volatility oscillator based on the relationship between two exponential moving averages. It builds a statistical picture of past oscillator pivots to define upper and lower threshold lines. When the oscillator crosses above the upper threshold a long trade is opened. When it crosses below the lower threshold a short trade is opened.

Once a trade is open, the EA can add further entries (laddering) as long as the oscillator keeps moving in the trend direction and price has moved far enough from the previous entry. All open positions are closed when the oscillator re-enters the neutral zone or crosses the opposite threshold.

Key features

• Works on any timeframe: M1, M5, M15, H1 and others
• Works on any symbol: forex pairs, indices, commodities, metals
• Self-contained: no separate indicator file required
• Trend laddering: adds to a winning position in controlled steps
• Built-in session filter: blocks trading during low-liquidity hours
• Full margin and volume checks before every order
• No grid trading, no hedging, no martingale, no averaging against the trend

Setup notes

The two most important parameters to tune per asset and timeframe are VtosStep and PriceStep. These control how far the oscillator and price must move before a new ladder entry is placed. A pair with high volatility such as XAUUSD will need larger values than a low-volatility forex pair. Start with the defaults, run a backtest, and adjust until the entries look correct on your chosen asset.

It is recommended to test on a demo account before going live. Always start with a small lot size to understand how the EA behaves on your broker and symbol.

Requirements

• MetaTrader 5
• Any symbol and timeframe
• Minimum recommended balance: 1000 USD at 0.01 lot, scale accordingly
• A VPS is recommended for uninterrupted 24/5 operation

Parameters

Risk settings

• RiskLot — Lot size for each individual entry, including ladder entries.
• MaxLadders — Maximum number of additional entries allowed after the initial entry. Set to 1 to disable laddering.

Ladder thresholds

• VtosStep — Minimum oscillator distance the oscillator must travel from the last entry before a new ladder entry is placed. Must be tuned per asset.
• PriceStep — Minimum price distance in points from the last entry before a new ladder entry is placed. Must be tuned per asset.

Session filter

• UseTimeFilter — Enables or disables the session block.
• BlockStartHour / BlockStartMin — Start of the blocked period (server time).
• BlockEndHour / BlockEndMin — End of the blocked period (server time). Default blocks 21:30 to 01:30 to avoid the low-liquidity rollover window.

VTOS indicator settings (i actually never change these)

• leftBars — Number of bars to the left used for oscillator pivot detection. Default: 20.
• rightBars — Number of bars to the right used for oscillator pivot detection. Default: 20. Higher values mean pivots are confirmed later but are more reliable.
• maxTops — Maximum number of pivots stored for the statistical average calculation. Default: 30.
• percent — Percentile used to calculate the entry threshold lines. Default: 5.0.
• CandlePercent — Percentile used for the candle pivot average lines. Default: 65.0.

Suggested starting values by asset

• BTCUSD M1 — VtosStep: 35, PriceStep: 80
• BTCUSD  M5 — VtosStep: 28, PriceStep: 50
• BTCUSD  M15 — VtosStep: 28, PriceStep: 70
• Other assets — use the Auto-calc suggestions to find suitable values

Important notes

• Past performance does not guarantee future results.
• The EA adds to open positions. Ensure your account has sufficient margin headroom when MaxLadders is set above 1.
• The EA needs enough historical bars to warm up (approximately 300 bars) before the first trade signal is generated.
• The EA can perform really well as in 5x account within 30 days. However it can also lose big if the market is being radical. Not any EA is a money printer. This is trading and it has risks