Pipsgrowth EX02025 Breakout

Pipsgrowth EX02025 is a classic Donchian channel breakout EA built on the original Turtle Trading rules: it goes long when price breaks above the N-bar highest high and short when it breaks below the N-bar lowest low. The implementation is intentionally minimal — there is no regime classifier, no multi-indicator confirmation stack, no higher-timeframe filter, no pyramiding. The edge comes from one well-tested concept executed cleanly on a single 5-minute chart.

The channel is calculated manually inside CalculateDonchianChannel(). For each bar i, the EA scans bars i+1 through i+DonchianPeriod (default 20) using iHigh() and iLow(), takes the running maximum as the upper rail, the running minimum as the lower rail, and the midpoint (upper+lower)/2 as the middle line. All three are stored in series arrays g_upperBuffer, g_lowerBuffer, and g_middleBuffer. Because the breakout is evaluated on the previous completed bar (shift = 1) rather than the still-forming bar, signals are stable and reproducible on backtests.

The breakout trigger is the high or low of the closed bar, not the close. A long signal fires when iHigh(_Symbol, PERIOD_M5, 1) > g_upperBuffer[1]. A short signal fires when iLow(_Symbol, PERIOD_M5, 1) < g_lowerBuffer[1]. The EA reads its current exposure through GetCurrentPositionType() and, if the new signal is the opposite of the held position, it first calls CloseAllPositions() to flatten the existing trade before opening the new one. With MaxPositions set to 1 by default, only one position exists at a time, so the flip is clean and atomic.

Risk management is straightforward but well-parameterized. The default stop is 50 pips, the default target is 100 pips — a fixed 1:2 risk-to-reward ratio. Lots are sized by CalculateLotSize() against RiskPercent (default 1% of balance) using the standard riskAmount / (stopLossPips × pipValue) formula, with pipValue derived from SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE × (point / tickSize). When RiskPercent is set to 0, the EA falls back to a flat FixedLotSize of 0.01 lots. NormalizeLot() clamps the result to the broker's min/max/step and rounds to two decimals. A pre-flight OrderCalcMargin() check refuses to send orders that would exceed ACCOUNT_MARGIN_FREE.

The trailing stop is one of the EA's distinguishing features. With UseTrailingStop = true (default), ApplyTrailingStop() runs on every new M5 bar and, for each open position, measures the favorable move against the open price. Once profit reaches TrailingStartPips (30 pips by default), the stop is ratcheted to TrailingStepPips (15 pips) behind current price. For a long, the new stop is bid − 15 pips; for a short, ask + 15 pips. The ratchet only moves forward — it never retreats, and it only modifies when the new level beats the old one by at least one point. The original TP at 100 pips remains in place unless the trailing stop is triggered first, so the EA can either take the full 2R target or lock in open profits depending on how price behaves after the breakout.

The visual layer is the most elaborate part of the codebase. DrawDonchianChannel() rebuilds the upper, lower, and middle lines on every tick using OBJ_TREND segments for the last 100 bars, colored lime (upper) and red (lower) by default with a dotted gray midline of width 1. CreateDashboard() builds a 280×260 panel in the upper-left corner showing symbol, timeframe, channel period, live channel values, session status, current signal, position state, total trades, and cumulative profit. Every label is recreated with CreateLabel() and updated on every tick by UpdateDashboard(), which reads the latest channel buffer values and the current IsInSession() state. OnDeinit() walks the chart's object list and removes any object whose name contains "Donchian_" so the chart is left clean when the EA is removed.

The hardening stack mirrors the other EX02-series EAs. IsSafeToTrade_EX02025() gates every new-bar decision. It first checks IsMarketOpen_EX02025() — the function returns false before Monday 22:00 GMT and after Friday 22:00 GMT, so weekend candles never trigger entries. It then calls InActiveSession_EX02025() which, when InpUseGMTSessions is true (off by default), restricts trading to the union of London (7–16 GMT) and New York (12–21 GMT); the simpler UseSessionFilter + SessionStartHour/SessionEndHour pair (7–16 UTC by default) governs session gating in its place. The news filter calls IsNewsTime_EX02025(), which queries CalendarValueHistory for high-importance events within ±30 minutes and blocks if any are present (default on). Equity-side safety: if InpCapAmount is set, the effective capital is clamped to min(cap, equity) and the EA refuses to trade if the result falls below InpCapFloor (default 1000). A drawdown guard refuses to trade when equity drops below 70% of the initial balance. A daily loss limit of 5% of the initial balance and a g_cooldownUntil timer set by OnTradeTransaction after 5 consecutive losses (4-hour cooldown) provide a third layer of protection.

OnTradeTransaction() is also where the trade counter and P&L accumulators live. It filters to deals whose DEAL_MAGIC matches MagicNumber (22202025) and whose symbol matches the current chart, then adds the deal's profit + swap + commission to g_realizedToday and g_realizedWeek, increments g_tradesToday, and either resets or increments g_consecLosses depending on whether the deal was a loss. The UpdateDailyCounters_EX02025() function rotates these counters at the day and week boundaries.

Execution is hardened against the usual transient errors. OpenPosition(), ClosePosition(), and ModifyPosition() each loop up to three times on TRADE_RETCODE_REQUOTE, TRADE_RETCODE_TIMEOUT, TRADE_RETCODE_PRICE_OFF, and TRADE_RETCODE_PRICE_CHANGED, refreshing the price after a 200 ms sleep and recomputing SL/TP from the new price. Filling mode is ORDER_FILLING_IOC, slippage tolerance is the Slippage input (10 points default), and the trade comment is the configurable InpTradeComment string "Psgrowth.com Expert_02025".

OnTester() returns profit × profitFactor / maxDD, gated by a minimum of 10 trades. This favors strategies that combine profitability with shallow drawdowns, not raw net profit alone.

The bottom line: EX02025 is a faithful, minimal implementation of the classic Turtle Donchian breakout. If you want the original 20-bar channel with a 1:2 risk-to-reward and a pips-based trailing stop on EURUSD M5, this is it. If you want regime filtering, multi-confirm entries, or partial close behavior, look at the other EX02-series EAs in the family.