Need help with this scan

javabob

On my chart I have the %B indicator with a Bollinger Bands overlay.
I am trying to scan for condition when %B cross thru the lower Bollinger Band
on a weekly time frame. Here is what I have, but it's not giving me the proper results.

and [WEEKLY %B(20,2.0) x WEEKLY lower BB(20,2.0)]

Thankyou in advance for any help you can give me.
Bob

markd

Since Bollinger Bands are an overlay displayed on the price chart (same as a moving average) and %B is an indicator, normally displayed under the chart, I assume you are seeing the crossovers by placing the %B indicator behind the price chart.

But if you place the %B indicator under the chart, you will see the scale values for the %B indicator, which is a ratio, not a price. Those values are way different from most stock prices (except very low priced stocks) - I would guess %B rarely gets out of the single digits. The Bollinger bands on the other hand ARE based on the stock price. So, the values of %B and BB are very different, so normally will NOT ACTUALLY cross over. It's an illusion caused by placing the indicator behind the price chart.

Even if you did find low priced stocks where the scan might actually yield a result, it would be meaningless, since the indicator and the overlay are measuring two different things (price and ratio).

javabob

Markd thankyou for responding!!
how I am setting it up on my chart is first placing the %B in the indicator below the chart, then I move over to the overlay and add Bollinger Bands to the same indicator window below the chart.
I have found the when the %B moves out of the BBand then back in , it setup for a good trade. I use two triggers, the outer bbands and second the centerline cross.
It takes a little while studying the ins and out of the setup, but works well
on many timeframes.
I wish we could include a picture to show you what I am seeing.
Much Thanks
Bob

javabob

I see that I might be able to attch a pic
http://schrts.co/iICGSqMS
one more rule is that above the 0.50 line is more bullish

markd

OK, I see what you want to do now.

I don't know if the BB function takes a third parameter, but if it does, you want to get the BB of %B, so

and [WEEKLY %B(20,2.0) x WEEKLY lower BB(20,2.0, weekly %B(20,2.0))]

Try it and see if it passes syntax.

javabob

markd Thankyou very much,
that is what I was looking for.