ROC (Rate of Change)¶
What it shows: how much the close has changed, in percent, compared with a set number of candles ago.
How people use it: above zero means price is higher than it was; crossing above zero is a simple momentum buy signal.
Pairs well with: a moving average for the bigger trend and ADX to check the move is strong.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 10 | How many candles back it compares with. Shorter flips around zero often; longer gives fewer, slower signals. |
You set the defaults on the Indicators page. A condition can use its own settings, which override the defaults for that condition only.
Ready-made conditions¶
| For | Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | ROC crosses above zero | the one candle ROC moves from below 0 to above it |
| Buy | ROC above zero | every candle ROC is above 0 |
| Sell | ROC crosses below zero | the one candle ROC moves from above 0 to below it |
| Sell | ROC below zero | every candle ROC is below 0 |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. "Crosses" and "flips" fire once, on the candle it happens, so you get one signal per move.
Warnings you may see¶
- "It can never be true: a cross happens on one candle, so it cannot happen on N candles in a row. Use 'within the last N candles' instead.": a "crosses" condition with a "… in a row" lookback of 2 or more. Switch the lookback to Within the last.
- "Length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
Where they show: on the Strategies page, open Create entry conditions / Edit entry conditions (or the exit ones). Each condition's messages appear right under it. The setting messages ("must be between", "whole number", "must be one of", "must be smaller than") start with the indicator's short name, for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000", and keep the conditions from being saved until fixed. The other warnings never block saving and are repeated in the strategy's Entry or Exit section, starting with the condition's name.
Good to know¶
- It is worked out from closing prices only (not volume).
- The ROC with length 25 above 0 is the same idea as Ichimoku's Chikou line (close above the close 25 candles ago).
- It needs some history before its value settles: the length + 1 candles (11 at length 10). Apathia loads that history for you.