Momentum Ignition Radar TradingView Indicator

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 22 Jul 2026

Large bars appear constantly. Most of them mean nothing. Momentum Ignition Radar, a momentum breakout indicator TradingView traders can add free, scores every bar out of 100. Also, four measurable traits feed that score. Volume against its own average, range against ATR, where the bar closed inside that range, and how quiet the three bars before it were. Indeed, only bars clearing 70 print an arrow, and each arrow carries its score.

It is free and open source. Still, you can add it to any chart from the Momentum Ignition Radar script page on TradingView, and the full Pine source is published there for you to read.

What Momentum Ignition Radar plots on the price chart

Qualifying bars get stacked triangles, three layers per side, tagged IGNITE with an arrow. Thus, a label sits 1.5 ATR clear of the bar carrying three lines: the score out of 100, a word grade such as STRONG or EXPLOSIVE, and the volume multiple. The signal bar changes colour. Hence, a radar background tint washes across any bar that clears the threshold. Top right, a ten-row dashboard shows the live score, grade, volume ratio, range ratio, close position, prior compression reading, running bull and bear counts, and bars since the last signal.

How Momentum Ignition Radar is built

Four components, 25 points each

The volume component divides current volume by its 20-bar SMA, then divides that ratio by the 2.0 spike multiplier and scales the result to 25 points, capped. Next, so a bar trading twice its average volume banks the full 25. A bar at average volume banks 12.5.

The range component works the same way. Then, it divides the bar range by ATR over 14 bars, then divides by the 1.5 expansion multiplier and scales to 25. A bar spanning 1.5 ATR takes the full quarter of the score.

The close component asks where the bar finished. On a green bar the script measures the close position inside the range, subtracts 0.8, divides by 0.2 and scales to 25. In plain terms, a close in the top fifth of the range starts earning and a close right at the high earns 25. Yet, red bars mirror it against the low. Anything short of that band scores zero rather than a negative.

The compression component looks backwards. Truly, it takes the previous bar’s three-bar average range, divides by ATR, and compares that against the 0.8 compression ratio. Quieter build-ups score more. Plainly, a prior stretch already as wide as ATR scores nothing.

From score to arrow

The four parts add up and round to a whole number, the ignition score. Also, grades follow fixed bands: 90 and above reads NUCLEAR, 75 reads EXPLOSIVE, 60 reads STRONG, 40 reads BUILDING, and anything lower reads WEAK. The dashboard shows both figures live.

The default threshold sits at 70, adjustable from 50 to 95. Indeed, do the arithmetic and the design becomes clear. A bar with twice average volume, 1.5 ATR of range and a close at its extreme already reaches 75 with zero compression credit. Still, so compression is a bonus that lifts marginal bars over the line, not a requirement.

Direction comes from the candle itself. Thus, a green ignition bar prints a buy, a red one prints a sell. The 10-bar cooldown then blocks a cluster of near-identical arrows during a fast run, and barstate.isconfirmed holds every arrow and label until the bar closes. Hence, one exception is worth knowing: the radar background tint is not gated that way, so it can appear and disappear while a bar is still live. Treat the tint as a heads-up and the arrow as the mark.

How to read the signals

Read the score before the direction. Next, an arrow at 92 and an arrow at 71 both look identical on the chart until you check the label. The grade word gives you the same information at a glance, so you can size your attention without doing sums.

Break the score into its parts on the dashboard. Then, a 78 built from volume and range means a genuine burst of participation. A 78 leaning on close position and compression means a tight coil that pushed to its extreme on ordinary volume. Yet, those are different setups even though the number matches.

Remember what an ignition bar is. Truly, it marks a sudden expansion, and expansions start moves as often as they end them. A high score deep into an extended run frequently marks capitulation rather than a fresh leg. Plainly, the script measures the bar and nothing around it, so structure and trend remain your job.

Every Momentum Ignition Radar setting explained

The script exposes 14 inputs, grouped in the settings panel exactly as shown below. Defaults are the published values.

Ignition Settings

Setting	What it does	Default	Range
Volume SMA Length	Baseline for volume spike detection	20	5 to 100
ATR Length	Sets the atr length used in the calculation.	14	5 to 50
Volume Spike Multiplier	Volume must be this multiple of SMA to be a spike	2.0	1.2 to 5.0
Range Expansion Multiplier	Range must be this multiple of ATR	1.5	1.0 to 3.0
Close Extreme Threshold	Close must be within this fraction of top/bottom of bar	0.2	0.05 to 0.4
Prior Compression Bars	Prior N bars average range must be compressed	3	2 to 8
Compression Ratio	Prior range avg must be below this fraction of ATR	0.8	0.3 to 1.0

Signal Settings

Setting	What it does	Default	Range
Ignition Score Threshold	Minimum 0-100 ignition score for signal	70	50 to 95
Signal Cooldown Bars	Sets the signal cooldown bars used in the calculation.	10	3 to 50

Visual Settings

Setting	What it does	Default	Range
Show Ignition Dashboard	Toggles show ignition dashboard on the chart.	on	on / off
Show Radar Sweep BG	Toggles show radar sweep bg on the chart.	on	on / off
Show 3-Layer Signal Glow	Toggles show 3-layer signal glow on the chart.	on	on / off
Buy Color	Colour used for buy color.	#39ff14
Sell Color	Colour used for sell color.	#ff2d78

Alerts built into Momentum Ignition Radar

The script ships 11 alert conditions. Also, open the alert dialog on the chart, pick the indicator as the condition source, then choose the event you want. Alerts fire on the close of the bar, so they follow the same confirmed-bar rule the on-chart signals use.

• MIR Buy Ignition
• MIR Sell Ignition
• MIR Any Signal
• MIR Nuclear
• MIR Volume Spike
• MIR Range Expansion
• MIR Compression
• MIR Any Ignition Bar
• MIR Webhook JSON

Other markets and timeframes

Every measurement stays relative, so the defaults travel well. Indeed, volume compares to its own 20-bar average, range compares to ATR, close position is a fraction of the bar, and compression compares prior range to ATR again. No absolute pip or price value appears anywhere, so gold, indices, crypto and equities need no retuning. Volume is the one dependency. On instruments with no volume feed, the score loses a quarter of its range and almost never clears 70.

Limitations worth knowing

This grades one bar. Still, it is not a trading system and it carries no trend view, no stop logic and no targets. It cannot tell a breakout from an exhaustion spike, because both look the same on volume, range and close position.

The volume component is instrument-dependent. Thus, spot forex volume is broker tick volume rather than exchange volume, so the ratio varies between data feeds. Where volume is missing, that component contributes nothing and the practical ceiling drops to 75.

The threshold trades quantity for quality and nothing else. Hence, raise it to 85 and you get a handful of marks. Drop it to 55 and the chart fills up. Next, no setting produces only the useful ones. The 10-bar cooldown also hides genuine follow-through ignitions that fire soon after the first.

Get Momentum Ignition Radar on TradingView

Open Momentum Ignition Radar on TradingView

If you also trade MetaTrader, the MT4 and MT5 indicator library is available below.

Using it alongside MetaTrader

Adding a script on TradingView takes one click, so there is no install step here. Yet, if you want the same idea on MetaTrader, the MT4 and MT5 indicator installation guide walks through copying files into the data folder and attaching them to a chart. You can also browse the full MetaTrader indicator library, the MT4 indicators section, or the other free TradingView scripts published on this profile. For related chart tools see the MT5 indicators section and the forex trading strategies guides.

External references

• Average true range on Wikipedia
• Momentum at Investopedia
• Decisionpoint Intermediate Term Volume Momentum Oscillator Itvm at StockCharts ChartSchool

Frequently asked questions

Does Momentum Ignition Radar repaint?

The arrows and labels do not. Truly, both gate on barstate.isconfirmed, so they appear only after the bar closes. The radar background tint is not gated that way, so it can flash on a live bar and then clear if the bar loses its score before closing.

What does an ignition score of 100 mean?

It means all four components maxed out on that bar: volume at or above twice its average, range at or above 1.5 ATR, a close hard against the extreme, and unusually quiet bars before it. It describes the bar’s character. Plainly, it says nothing about what happens next.

Can I use it without a volume feed?

Partly. Also, the volume component then contributes nothing, so the highest reachable score becomes 75. Lower the Ignition Score Threshold to around 55 if you want signals on such symbols, and accept that one of the four checks is missing.

Why did an obviously huge bar get no arrow?

Three gates block marks. Indeed, the total score fell below 70, the cooldown from the previous signal had not elapsed, or the bar closed away from its extreme, which zeroes that component. The dashboard lists each component live, so you can see which one fell short.

How much should I rely on this indicator?

Treat it as one input, not a decision. Still, it is a chart analysis tool, not trading advice. Test it on your own markets and timeframes before relying on it. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results.