TDU Devils Donchian Channel
A Donchian channel shows the highest high and the lowest low of the last bars. TDU Devils Donchian Channel adds what the plain version leaves to you: a trend state that colours the channel and the candles, inner bands that mark the zone close to each extreme, a midline, and an alert when the trend flips.
What TDU Devils Donchian Channel is
The indicator is a price overlay with five visible lines. Upper is the highest high of the last Donchian Period bars, 20 by default. Lower is the lowest low of the same bars. Mean is the midpoint between the two, drawn as a dotted line.
Inside the channel sit two inner bands. BandUp is the upper line minus an offset, and BandLow is the lower line plus the same offset. The offset is either the ATR or the standard deviation of the close over Band Period bars, multiplied by Band Multiplier. With the defaults that is one ATR of 10 bars. The area between each outer line and its inner band can be shaded, which gives you a zone near the high and a zone near the low.
On top of that the indicator keeps a trend state. The trend turns up on a bar where the upper line rises, which means price made a new high for the lookback. It turns down on a bar where the lower line falls. Between those events the trend stays what it was. When one bar does both, the trend is down.
TDU Devils Donchian Channel ships inside SabrTrader with the Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual plans. There is no separate licence for it. The same plans unlock the rest of the premium library, including Volume Profile, Market Structure and TDU Pivots.
How to read it on the chart
| Element | What it shows | Default look |
| Upper | Highest high of the lookback | Solid line, coloured by trend |
| Lower | Lowest low of the lookback | Solid line, coloured by trend |
| Mean | Midpoint of Upper and Lower | Dotted grey line |
| BandUp and BandLow | The outer lines moved inward by the ATR or StdDev offset | Dotted lines, coloured by trend |
| Band fill | The zone between each outer line and its inner band | Faint green at the top, faint red at the bottom |
| Candles | The trend state of each bar | Cornflower blue in an uptrend, light coral in a downtrend |
The outer lines and the inner bands share one colour per bar: forest green while the trend is up and crimson while it is down. So a colour change of the channel is the trend flip itself. With Paint Bars on, the candles change colour on the same bar.
The lines move in steps. The upper line only rises when a bar makes a new high for the lookback, and it only falls when an old high drops out of the window. A flat upper line means price has not made a new high for a while. The same holds for the lower line.
The indicator also publishes a hidden Trend value, plus 1 in an uptrend and minus 1 in a downtrend.
Three ways traders use it
Trend filter
Take longs only while the channel is green and shorts only while it is red. The flip needs a new lookback high or low, so it does not react to every small swing.
Breakout and follow-through
When price keeps closing inside the shaded zone at the top, it is pressing against the highs and the upper line keeps stepping up. A move back below BandUp shows that the push has paused.
Pullback to the mean
In a trend, the dotted Mean is a natural place to look for a pullback to end. Combine it with TDU Support & Resistance or Volume Profile for a level to trade against.
Where it struggles
In a tight range both lines go flat and price crosses the Mean again and again. A wider period, or waiting for a line to step, keeps you out of that.
How to add it in SabrTrader
- Install SabrTrader and sign in with a Pro, Ultimate or Perpetual plan. See pricing for the plans.
- Open a chart of the instrument you trade.
- Add the indicator. Open the indicator list, search for Devils Donchian Channel and add it. It draws on the price panel.
- Pick the lookback. Donchian Period 20 is the default. A larger number gives a wider channel and fewer trend flips.
- Choose the inner bands. Band type can be ATR, StandardDeviation or None. None hides the inner bands and the fill.
- Decide on bar painting. Paint Bars is on by default. Switch it off if another indicator already colours your candles.
- Switch on the alert if you want a sound when the trend flips, then save the chart as a template.
Try it on your own market
TDU Devils Donchian Channel is included in Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual, together with the rest of the SabrTrader premium indicators.
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Parameters and bands
| Setting | Default | What it does |
| Donchian Period | 20 | Number of bars used for the highest high and the lowest low. |
| Show mean | On | Shows the dotted midline. |
| Paint Bars | On | Colours the candles by the trend state. |
| Fill bands | On | Shades the zone between each outer line and its inner band. |
| Band type | ATR | How the inner band offset is measured: ATR, StandardDeviation (of the close) or None. |
| Band Period | 10 | Number of bars for the ATR or the standard deviation. |
| Band Multiplier | 1 | Multiplies the offset. A larger value moves the inner bands further into the channel. |
Colours and alerts
| Setting | Default | What it does |
| OutLine Uptrend | Forest green | Colour of the outer lines and inner bands in an uptrend. |
| OutLine Downtrend | Crimson | Colour of the outer lines and inner bands in a downtrend. |
| Candle Uptrend | Cornflower blue | Candle colour in an uptrend when Paint Bars is on. |
| Candle Downtrend | Light coral | Candle colour in a downtrend when Paint Bars is on. |
| Fill Up bands | Forest green, very faint | Fill between Upper and BandUp. |
| Fill Lower bands | Crimson, very faint | Fill between BandLow and Lower. |
| Enabled (Alerts) | Off | Raises an alert on a live bar where the trend flips. The message is "Up trend" or "Down trend". |
| Sound (Alerts) | Default alert sound | The WAV file played with the alert. |
Markets and data it needs
The channel is calculated from the high, low and close of each bar. It needs no volume, no bid and ask data and no order flow. That means it works on futures, stocks, forex and crypto, and with any feed SabrTrader supports, including Rithmic, dxFeed, Databento, IQFeed and Interactive Brokers.
Because it counts bars and not minutes, it also runs on tick, volume and range charts. The lookback is always a number of bars of the chart you put it on.
Frequently asked questions
What decides the trend colour?
The trend turns up on a bar where the upper line rises, and down on a bar where the lower line falls. Until the opposite event happens, the colour stays the same.
What are the inner bands for?
They mark a zone close to each extreme. BandUp is the upper line minus the ATR or standard deviation offset, BandLow is the lower line plus that offset. Price inside the top zone is trading near the highs of the lookback.
Can I use it as a plain Donchian channel?
Yes. Set Band type to None and switch off Paint Bars. You keep the upper line, the lower line and the midline, still coloured by trend.
Does it give an alert?
Yes, one. With the alert enabled you get a sound and a message on a live bar where the trend flips up or down. It does not alert on historical bars.
Does it work on tick, volume or range charts?
Yes. The lookback counts bars, whatever kind of bar the chart uses. A Donchian Period of 20 is the last 20 bars of that chart.
Can other tools read the trend?
The indicator publishes its lines and a hidden Trend value, plus 1 for an uptrend and minus 1 for a downtrend, next to the Upper, Lower, Mean and band values.
Is it a separate purchase?
No. It is included in the Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual plans. See pricing or browse the full premium indicator list.
See the trend in the channel itself
Download SabrTrader, open a chart and add Devils Donchian Channel. The defaults work without any setup.
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