TDU Waddah Attar Explosion: momentum bars against a volatility line
TDU Waddah Attar Explosion answers two questions in one panel: which way is momentum pushing, and is that push bigger than the current volatility. A histogram shows the strength of the move, green for up and red for down. An explosion line built from Bollinger bands shows how wide volatility is. When volatility is expanding and a momentum bar rises above the line, the indicator signals, paints the candle and puts an arrow on the price chart.
What the indicator is
The indicator has three parts, all calculated from closing prices.
The trend bars. The indicator takes a MACD line, the 20-period exponential average minus the 40-period one by default, and measures how much that line changed since the previous bar. The change is multiplied by Sensitivity (100 by default). A positive change is drawn as a bullish bar. A negative change is drawn as a bearish bar of the same size. Both grow upward from zero, so the height always means strength and the colour means direction.
The explosion line. This is the upper Bollinger band of the current bar minus the lower Bollinger band of the previous bar, using a 20-bar period and 2 standard deviations by default. In practice it is the width of the bands. It rises when volatility expands and falls when the market tightens.
The dead zone line. A flat reference line at DeadZonePip ticks of the instrument (12 by default). It marks a floor of small movement so you can see at a glance whether the bars and the explosion line are above the noise.
A signal needs two things on the same bar: the explosion line is higher than on the previous bar, and a trend bar is taller than the explosion line. A bullish bar gives a buy signal and a bearish bar gives a sell signal. After a buy, no further buy is given until a sell has occurred, and the same holds the other way round, so signals alternate.
TDU Waddah Attar Explosion comes with SabrTrader on the Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual plans. There is no separate licence. The same plans include the rest of the premium library, such as TDU Wicked Wave, Footprint and Volume Profile.
How to read it on the chart
| Element | Default colour | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bullish bar, growing | Lime green | Upward momentum, and stronger than on the previous bar. |
| Bullish bar, shrinking | Forest green | Upward momentum that is no longer increasing. |
| Bearish bar, growing | Red | Downward momentum, and stronger than on the previous bar. |
| Bearish bar, shrinking | Orange | Downward momentum that is no longer increasing. |
| Explosion line, rising | Lime | Volatility is expanding. Signals are possible. |
| Explosion line, falling | Crimson | Volatility is contracting. No signal is given. |
| Dead zone line | Light sky blue | Reference level for small, noise-sized readings. |
| Painted candle and up arrow | Deep sky blue | Buy signal on this bar. The arrow sits just below the bar's low. |
| Painted candle and down arrow | Magenta | Sell signal on this bar. The arrow sits just above the bar's high. |
Read the panel from the line outward. Start with the explosion line: is it rising, and is it above the dead zone line. Then look at the bars: which colour, and are they getting taller. A bright bar above a rising explosion line is the condition the indicator is built to find. Darker bars under a falling line describe a move that is running out of energy.
The first 50 bars on the chart are used for warm-up and show nothing.
Three ways traders use it
Breakout confirmation
When price leaves a range, check the panel. A breakout that comes with a signal has both momentum and expanding volatility behind it. One without a signal has neither confirmed.
Staying out of quiet markets
Short bars and an explosion line that sits near the dead zone line describe a market that is not moving enough to trade a momentum idea. Many traders simply wait for the line to lift.
Managing an open trade
The shift from the bright colour to the darker one, lime to forest green or red to orange, shows that momentum has stopped increasing. It is an early hint to tighten up, well before the bars change side.
Momentum plus location
A signal is more useful at a price that matters. Mark levels with Volume Profile or TDU Pivots and use the signal as the timing tool at those levels.
See momentum and volatility together
TDU Waddah Attar Explosion is included in Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual together with the whole premium library.
Download SabrTrader free See plans & pricingHow to add it in SabrTrader
- Open a chart of the instrument you trade.
- Add the indicator. Open the indicator list and search for Waddah Attar Explosion. It opens in its own panel below price.
- Check the scale. The bar height depends on the price scale of the instrument and on Sensitivity. If the bars rarely reach the explosion line on your market, raise Sensitivity. If they tower over it all the time, lower it.
- Choose the signal marks. Color bars paints the signal candle and Draw Arrows adds the arrow on the price panel. Both are on by default and can be switched off separately.
- Turn on the alert if you want a sound with each signal.
Settings reference
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity | 100 | Multiplier on the bar-to-bar change of the MACD line. Scales the trend bars. Minimum 1. |
| DeadZonePip | 12 | Height of the dead zone line in ticks of the instrument. |
| MACD Fast Period | 20 | Fast exponential average of the MACD line. |
| MACD Slow Period | 40 | Slow exponential average of the MACD line. |
| BB Std. Dev | 2 | Standard deviations of the Bollinger bands behind the explosion line. Whole number. |
| BB Period | 20 | Period of the Bollinger bands. |
| Color bars | On | Paints the candle on a signal bar. |
| Draw Arrows | On | Draws the signal arrow on the price panel. |
| Bullish Higher / Bullish Lower | Lime green / Forest green | Bullish bar when taller than the previous one, and when not. |
| Bearish Higher / Bearish Lower | Red / Orange | Bearish bar when taller than the previous one, and when not. |
| Explosion rising / Explosion falling | Lime / Crimson | Colour of the explosion line. |
| Uptrend bar color / Downtrend bar color | Deep sky blue / Magenta | Colour of the painted candle and the arrow for buy and sell signals. |
| Enabled (Alerts) | Off | Raises "Trend up alert" or "Trend down alert" on a signal. |
| Sound (Alerts) | Default sound | The WAV file played with the alert. |
The bullish bars, the bearish bars, the explosion line and the dead zone line are separate plots. Each can be shown or hidden on its own in the plot settings.
Markets and data
The whole calculation runs on closing prices, plus the tick size of the instrument for the dead zone line. It needs no volume, tick data or order flow. It works on futures, stocks, forex and crypto and on every bar type, including Renko, range, tick and volume bars. Any connected feed that delivers bars will do, for example Rithmic, dxFeed, Databento, IQFeed or Interactive Brokers.
The indicator calculates on bar close, and alerts fire on live bars only. For the data box and for strategies it publishes Trend1 (bullish bar), Trend2 (bearish bar), Explosion, Deadzone, Trend Long (1 on a buy signal bar), Trend Short (-1 on a sell signal bar) and Histogram (the bar height regardless of direction).
Frequently asked questions
What exactly triggers a buy or sell signal?
The explosion line must be higher than on the previous bar, and the trend bar must be taller than the explosion line. A bullish bar gives a buy, a bearish bar gives a sell. Signals alternate: after a buy the next signal can only be a sell.
Why do both bullish and bearish bars point up?
The height shows strength and the colour shows direction. Drawing both from zero upward lets you compare either side directly with the explosion line and the dead zone line.
What is the dead zone line for?
It is a visual floor. Readings below it are small relative to the tick size of the instrument. The signal rule itself compares the trend bar with the explosion line, so the dead zone line is a reference for your own reading and does not block signals.
The bars are tiny on my instrument. What should I change?
Raise Sensitivity. The bars are the change in the MACD line times that number, so their size depends on the price scale of the instrument and on the bar size. Adjust it until strong moves clear the explosion line and ordinary bars do not.
Does a signal repaint?
The indicator calculates once per closed bar. A signal, its arrow and the painted candle are set when the bar closes and stay there.
Is TDU Waddah Attar Explosion a separate purchase?
No. It is included in the Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual plans. See pricing or the full list of premium indicators.
Know when a move has force behind it
TDU Waddah Attar Explosion ships with SabrTrader on Pro, Ultimate and Perpetual. No add-on fee and no separate licence.
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