Auto-Calc Bar Offset? |
If checked, the indicator will automatically determine the best offset to use for the cycle analysis. If not checked then you must input your own offset into the Manual Bar Offset setting. Default value is checked.
As discussed in the Overview section, the purpose of the Offset is to give you an out-of-sample period in which to validate the reported cycle activity....basically to ensure that the reported cycles are still in play. While you certainly can use an offset of 0, you will have no out-of-sample period in which to compare the cycles to what actually transpired in the price action.
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Pivot Size |
This is the pivot size (bars before and bars after) to use in the Auto-Calc logic above to find a recent pivot to use as the Bar Offset. Typically a value between 10 and 20 should work the best. We want to identify the nearest intermediate/major swing but, by the same token, we don't want an out-of-sample period that is too large. Default value is 10 and the range is from 2 to 30 bars.
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Manual Bar Offset |
Only used if Auto-Calc Bar Offset above is unchecked. Input the number bars to offset the cycle analysis. Note that if you use a Manual Bar Offset, the offset will shift accordingly as new bars come in (i.e., to maintain the selected bar offset). To maintain the position of the offset as new bars come in, be sure to check the Fixed Offset option (below). Range is from 0 to 300 bars. Default value is 0.
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----Fixed Offset |
If Manual Bar Offset is being used, this option will keep the offset at whatever bar was selected as new bars come in. So if 10 was initially selected as the Manual Offset, the offset would be 11 when the next bar comes in, and 12 when the bar after that comes in, etc. Default value is false.
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Select Plot |
From this dropdown you can select the type of plot you wish to produce. You can select from Plot Cycles, Plot Primary Cycle Only, Plot Composite, and Plot Spectrum. Plot Cycles is the default.
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Window Size |
Select the window size (i.e., the size of the data segment, in bars) that will be used for the cycle analysis. You can choose from 128, 256, and 512. The default value is 256.
Typically you will want to leave this at the 256 setting. If the chart is extremely noisy or if there is/was an obvious change in the recent price action then you might want to try the 128 setting. On the other hand, if price is visibly showing very little short-term cyclical activity and is either flat or in a trend, then you will get better results with the 512 setting.
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Price Source |
Select the price source (i.e., open, high, low, close, hl2, hlc3, ohlc4) to use for the cycle analysis. The default is hl2.
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Windowing Function |
In this dropdown you can select the windowing function to be applied to the input data prior to the cycle analysis. A windowing function mitigates spectral leakage by tapering the edges of a finite-length signal segment to reduce discontinuities. You can select from rectangular, hanning, hamming, blackman, blackmanHarris, and parzen. The default is hanning. To use no windowing function, select the rectangular option.
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Amplitude Filter |
The amplitude filter allows you to filter out weaker cycles in the cycle analysis. The normalized amplitude of the cycles will range from 0 to 1.0 and you can select any amplitude in that range and any cycles with a lower relative amplitude will be ignored.
For the larger window sizes (i.e., 256 and 512) this setting will likely not be important. But when using the smaller 128 window size it can help eliminate noise from the cycle analysis.
Range is from 0 to 1.0 and the default value is 0.1.
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Upper Cycle Limit |
This option, along with the Lower Cycle Limit option, allows you to restrict your cycle analysis to a range of cycle periods. Typically you will want to keep your Upper Cycle Limit at a value that is at or below 1/2 of the selected Window Size. So if using the 512 window size you would want to keep your Upper Cycle Limit at or below 256. Note that the cycle analysis is actually performed in 1/4-cycle increments to increase the granularity. The range is from 2 to 300 and the default value is 80.
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Lower Cycle Limit |
This option, along with the Upper Cycle Limit option, allows you to restrict your cycle analysis to a range of cycle periods. When using the smaller 128 window size, you may want to increase the Lower Cycle Limit to 10 or 15 to filter out some of the noise. Note that the cycle analysis is actually performed in 1/4-cycle increments to increase the granularity. The range is from 2 to 300 and the default value is 5.
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DeTrend Data? |
Check this option to detrend the input price data prior to the cycle analysis phase. It is very important to normalize and remove any trend from the input data to prevent any inherent trending price action from skewing the cycle analysis. Default value is checked.
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Cycle Plot Extension |
This represents the number of bars by which the plotted cycles or composite should be extended into the future. Range is from 0 to 50 bars. Default value is 20.
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Cycle #1 Color |
Select the plot color to use for the primary cycle as well as the composite plot. Default value is blue.
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----Hide Cycle #1? |
Check this box to remove the primary cycle from the cycle display. Default value is unchecked.
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Cycle #2 Color |
Select the plot color to use for the secondary cycle. Default value is green.
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----Hide Cycle #2? |
Check this box to remove the secondary cycle from the cycle display. Default value is unchecked.
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Cycle #3 Color |
Select the plot color to use for the tertiary cycle. Default value is orange.
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----Hide Cycle #3? |
Check this box to remove the tertiary cycle from the cycle display. Default value is unchecked.
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Cycles Label Color |
Select the color to use for displaying the list of cycles, which appears just to the right of the Bar Offset. Default value is navy.
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Bar Offset Color |
Select the color to use when drawing the vertical line at the Bar Offset location. Default value is silver.
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Zero-Line Color |
Select the color to use when drawing the zero-line in the cycles indicator pane. Default value is black.
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Label Text Size |
Select the text size (tiny, small, normal, or large) to use for the informational labels in the cycles indicator pane. Default is normal.
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Cycle List Text Size |
Select the text size (tiny, small, normal, or large) to use for the list of cycles in the cycles indicator pane. Default is normal.
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Histogram Thickness |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Specify the plot thickness to use when displaying the power spectrum histogram. Default is 4. Range is from 1 to 10.
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Spectrum Histogram Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use for plotting the spectrum histogram. Default is blue.
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Spectrum Max Cycle Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use to highlight the cycle with the highest amplitude. Default is navy.
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Legend Period Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use for the period legend. Default is black.
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Legend Frequency Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use for the frequency legend. Default is green.
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Legend Amplitude Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use for the amplitude legend. Default is maroon.
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Frame Color |
This only applies if the Plot Spectrum option is selected. Select the color to use to draw the power spectrum frame. Default is gray.
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Do SineWave Test? |
Check this box if you want to run a test on the cycle analysis algorithm using a generated sine wave rather than the actual price data. If this is selected, the indicator will internally generate a sine wave using the periods you select below and will plot that sine wave in the indicator pane. And it will also overlay the results of the cycle analysis so you can verify that the correct amplitudes, phase, and phase increments have been extracted during the cycle analysis. You can also use the Plot Spectrum option to do this.
The SineWave test is a good way to test how the Windowing Functions impact the cycle analysis. Turn on the SineWave test and then select Plot Spectrum from the Select Plot dropdown. Then select different Windowing Functions and observe how they impact the spectrum (vs what you know to be the actual cycles used).
Note that you must specify a value for Test Cycle Period #1, but you can set either or both of the remaining cycle periods to 0 if you only want a sine wave plot based on one or two cycles.
Make sure that the periods you select are within the currently-selected Window Size. So, for a Window Size of 128, the largest period you can specify would be 64. For a Window Size of 256, the largest period you can specify would be 128. And for a Window Size of 512, the largest period you can specify would be 256.
Default is unchecked.
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----Test Cycle Period #1 |
Select the primary cycle period to use for the SineWave test. Range is from 2 to 100. Default value is 60.
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----Test Cycle Period #2 |
Select the secondary cycle period to use for the SineWave test. Range is from 0 to 100. Default value is 25.
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----Test Cycle Period #3 |
Select the tertiary cycle period to use for the SineWave test. Range is from 0 to 100. Default is 10.
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