Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator: Momentum Bursts

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 29 Jul 2026 · Last updated 26 Aug 2026

The best waddah attar explosion indicator asks whether momentum is accelerating hard enough to matter. The histogram is the bar to bar change in a MACD line, amplified. Two reference lines sit over it: the width of a Bollinger channel, and a floor scaled from ATR.

This build ships as a compiled .ex4 for MT4 and .ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Separate window (levels 0)
Plots	4: Explosion Up, Explosion Down, Explosion Line, Dead Zone
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	14

What the Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator draws on the chart

Explosion Up is the histogram while momentum accelerates upward.

Explosion Down takes the bars where it accelerates the other way.

Explosion Line traces the width of the Bollinger channel, upper minus lower.

Dead Zone is the ATR scaled floor underneath both.

A zero level crosses the pane, since the histogram is a change rather than a level.

• Explosion Up: histogram, lime green, width 3
• Explosion Down: histogram, orange red, width 3
• Explosion Line: line, dodger blue, width 2
• Dead Zone: line, silver, width 1

How the Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator calculates its values

The histogram

Two MACD readings get taken, one on the current bar and one on the bar before. Both use InpFastEMA, InpSlowEMA and InpSignalEMA. The difference between them is how far the line moved.

That difference is tiny in price terms. InpSensitivity multiplies it by 150, which brings it onto a readable scale beside the other two lines.

The explosion line

A Bollinger channel gets built over InpBBPeriod at InpBBDev deviations. The plotted value is upper minus lower.

That width is a direct volatility reading. It rises when closes scatter and falls when they cluster. So the histogram has something real to clear.

The dead zone

ATR over InpAtrPeriod bars, times InpDeadMult, gives the floor. At a period of 100 that reading is slow and stable rather than reactive.

That pairing is the technique. A bar has to clear both the volatility width and the floor before it counts as a real expansion rather than noise.

How to read the signals

A histogram bar taller than Explosion Line is the event this tool exists to show.

Bars under Dead Zone are below the noise floor whatever their colour.

Colour says which way momentum is accelerating, not which way price is going.

All four values share one raw price scale, which is why the sensitivity multiplier exists.

Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.

Alerts cover popup, push, email and sound. A bar time check keeps it to one alert per closed bar.

Every Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
InpFastEMA	MACD fast EMA. InpFastEMA is the fast length behind the MACD reading, 20 by default.	20
InpSlowEMA	MACD slow EMA. InpSlowEMA is the slow length at 40.	40
InpSignalEMA	MACD signal (unused in main). InpSignalEMA is the signal smoothing at 9, though the histogram uses the main line.	9
InpBBPeriod	Bollinger channel period. InpBBPeriod sets the Bollinger window behind the explosion line, 20 by default.	20
InpBBDev	Bollinger channel deviation. InpBBDev is the deviation multiple for that channel at 2.0. Widening it lifts the line the histogram has to clear.	2.0
InpSensitivity	Trend sensitivity multiplier. InpSensitivity amplifies the MACD change onto a readable scale, 150.0 by default.	150.0
InpAtrPeriod	Dead-zone ATR period. InpAtrPeriod is the volatility window behind the dead zone, 100 by default for stability.	100
InpDeadMult	Dead-zone ATR multiplier. InpDeadMult scales that ATR into the floor, 3.7 by default.	3.7

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
EnableAlerts	(see inputs panel)	on
EnablePopup	(see inputs panel)	on
EnablePushNotify	(see inputs panel)	off
EnableEmail	(see inputs panel)	off
EnableSound	(see inputs panel)	off
SoundFile	(see inputs panel)	alert.wav

Settings that fit your chart

The screenshot uses EURUSD H1. The technique wants a chart where volatility genuinely expands and contracts, which suits H1 and H4 on liquid majors. On M1 the MACD change is dominated by single ticks and the sensitivity multiplier amplifies that noise along with everything else.

When the Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator fails

The histogram measures a change in momentum, two steps away from price. A tall bar can print while price barely moves.

InpSensitivity at 150 is a display choice. Histogram height means nothing alone, and only matters against the two reference lines.

All three readings lag. Bollinger width and ATR both expand after volatility arrives, never before.

A hundred bar ATR is deliberately slow, so the dead zone stays high for a long time after a volatile stretch ends.

Copy the compiled Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, and the MT5 build into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag it onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Download the Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator build for MT4 and MT5, plus a short README. Compiled files only, no source. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.

FAQ

Why does InpSensitivity need to be as high as 150?

The raw number is the bar to bar change in a MACD line, which in price terms is tiny. Multiplying by 150 lifts it onto the same visible scale as the Bollinger width and the ATR floor. That lets you read all three in one pane.

What has to happen for a bar to count as an explosion?

The histogram has to clear both reference lines on the same bar. It must stand taller than Explosion Line, the Bollinger channel width, and sit above Dead Zone, the ATR scaled floor. Clearing just one of the two falls short.

Why is InpAtrPeriod set to 100 rather than 14?

The dead zone works as a stable floor rather than a reactive reading. A hundred bar ATR barely moves from one bar to the next. So the threshold stays put while the histogram and the Bollinger width do the moving.

Does the histogram colour tell me the trend direction?

No. It shows which way momentum is accelerating. Momentum can accelerate upward while price is still falling, if the fall is slowing. Read the colour as a change in pace rather than a statement about where price is heading.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Best Waddah Attar Explosion Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.