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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical Analysis - Beginners -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Watkins who wrote (11133)	1/30/2001 11:37:19 PM
From: TechTrader42	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12039

Parabolic SAR is an excellent indicator, often among the first to give good entry and exit signals. It tests better than most indicators in Metastock, too. Achelis seems to be a fan of it, from what he says in "TA from A to Z" (that it "provides excellent exit points"). The calculation of SAR is explained in Wilder's "New Concepts In Technical Trading Systems." I don't know how effective it would have been during the market's recent gyrations. Probably not very. Like most indicators, it would be more effective when there are clear, sustained trends. Most indicators are always a step behind candlesticks in signaling changes in trend, as Monty will affirm.

To: Michael Watkins who wrote (11133)	1/30/2001 11:52:42 PM
From: TechTrader42	Respond to of 12039

Michael: It's binary to the extent that the AF (Acceleration Factor) is based on whether a new high is made if long, and a new low if short. I guess that's what you mean. But it's a lot more involved than that, as you no doubt know. If you've ever tried to work it out in Excel, you know it's not all that easy to calculate. Wilder lays it out step by step, though. I recall a TA convention (in another time, another place) where a speaker was asked how it was calculated. "I don't know," he said. "I just know that it works." As good an answer as any, I suppose.