FAQ

FAQ

Quick answers to the questions people ask most often. Each answer gives you the short version and points to the page that explains it fully.

Why does this go from -100 to +100 instead of 0 to 100?

The oscillator converts standard stochastic values to a bipolar scale where zero is the neutral center. Stochastic 50 becomes 0, stochastic 100 becomes +100, stochastic 0 becomes -100. The conversion makes the zero line meaningful and keeps the scale symmetric around center. It also makes slot-to-slot and slot-to-blend comparison easier, because everything shares the same centered ruler. See For the Geeks for the full explanation and a conversion table.

What does +70 on this oscillator mean in normal stochastic terms?

Approximately stochastic 85. The default overbought level on this oscillator is considerably more extreme than the traditional stochastic 80. If you want something closer to the standard 80 overbought level, set it to +60. See the conversion table in For the Geeks and the OB/OS section in Settings.

What is the difference between K Smoothing and D Length?

K Smoothing is the first MA pass — it smooths the raw stochastic %K into the displayed K line. D Length is the second MA pass — it smooths K into D, which serves as the reference line for regime detection (bullish when K > D, bearish when K < D). Together, they form a two-stage smoothing chain. Increasing either adds lag, and the lag compounds when both are high. See For the Geeks for a detailed breakdown of the chain.

If I set a slot's weight to 0, does it still do anything?

Yes. A slot at weight 0 still calculates, still plots on the chart, and still fires alerts. The only thing weight 0 removes is the slot's contribution to the blended composite. This is different from disabling the slot entirely — a disabled slot does nothing at all. See the weight section in Settings.

Can I use this on a daily chart?

Yes, but every slot's timeframe must be equal to or higher than the daily timeframe. With the default slot timeframes (5m, 15m, 60m), the indicator will throw a runtime error on a daily chart because all three slots are set lower than the chart. You would need to raise the slot timeframes — for example, to Daily, Weekly, and Monthly — to use the indicator on a daily chart. Keep in mind that a Daily/Weekly/Monthly spread behaves very differently from the intraday defaults: updates are far less frequent, and the highest-timeframe slot may hold steady for weeks at a time with On Bar Close on.

Does this indicator repaint?

It depends on the On Bar Close setting. With On Bar Close on (the default), the indicator does not repaint. It uses the last confirmed higher-timeframe bar's data, so what you see live is what the chart shows in history. The cost of that stability is lag — the slot always reports the previous HTF bar, not the current one. With On Bar Close off, the indicator updates intrabar from the building higher-timeframe bar, which means the display can change retroactively when the bar closes. That is repainting by design, not a bug. The default is the safe choice for most users. See MTF and Repainting for the full explanation of both modes and the real cost of each.

Which MA type should I use for K and D smoothing?

There is no universally correct answer. SMA and EMA are solid starting points for most users. SMA gives equal weight to all periods — stable, predictable lag. EMA weights recent values more heavily, making it slightly faster. The other types (HMA, ALMA, RMA, etc.) have specific characteristics that matter if you know what you are looking for, but they are not necessary for getting good use from the indicator. See the K Type section in Settings for a comparison.

Is the blended K/D line just an average of the three slot lines?

It is a weighted average of the contributing slots' K values (and separately, their D values). The weights are set per slot and normalized automatically — they do not need to sum to a specific number. A slot at weight 0 is excluded from the blend. The blend reflects the composite, which means it dampens disagreement between slots rather than highlighting it. If two slots are bullish and one is bearish, the blend leans bullish — the dissent gets averaged down, not surfaced. This is the blend's most important characteristic and its biggest trust trap: it will always present a smoother, more confident picture than the individual slots warrant when the slots disagree. That is why the individual slot lines exist alongside the blend — and why watching only the blend means missing the moments that matter most. See For the Geeks for the full blending explanation and Limitations and Trust Boundaries for why the dampening matters more than it sounds.

What happens if I enable Master Smoothing on top of everything else?

You add a third smoothing layer. The indicator already applies two MA passes per slot (K Smoothing and D smoothing). Master Smoothing adds another pass to the blended output. The result is a smoother blend that is also more delayed. Each smoothing layer adds lag, and the lag compounds. If your blend looks very calm with Master Smoothing on, compare it to the blend with Master Smoothing off — the difference shows you how much delay the extra layer is introducing. See Settings and the smoothing chain section in For the Geeks.

Why do I get so many regime flip alerts in a choppy market?

In range-bound conditions, the K and D lines cross frequently because stochastic momentum has no clear direction. Each crossing is a regime flip, and each regime flip fires an alert. This is the indicator correctly reporting that momentum is choppy — the high alert volume is itself information. If you want fewer alerts, increase K Smoothing or D Length to reduce crossover frequency, or use the "All Stoch Slots" alignment alerts, which only fire when every enabled slot agrees. See Alerts.

Can I use Optional Ticker to track multiple instruments at once?

Yes, but understand what the blend produces. Setting each slot to a different ticker gives you individual stochastic momentum readings per instrument on a common scale, and a blended composite of those readings. The blend is mathematically valid but does not measure correlation or imply that the instruments are moving for the same reason. It is a rough gauge of composite momentum across the selected symbols. Also note that the alert messages reference the chart symbol, not the overridden ticker — so you need to remember which slot maps to which instrument. See Multi-Ticker Mixing for use cases and caveats.

Why is one slot flat while the others are moving?

The flat slot is likely set to a much higher timeframe than the chart, with On Bar Close on. It only updates when the higher-timeframe bar closes. On a 1-minute chart with a 60-minute slot, the slot updates once per hour. Between updates, it holds the last confirmed value. This is the expected behavior of the non-repainting mode. See MTF and Repainting and Troubleshooting.

What happens to the blend if I disable a slot?

The blend re-normalizes around the remaining enabled slots. If you disable Stoch 03, the blend is computed from Stoch 01 and Stoch 02 only, using their relative weights. The blend does not "remember" the disabled slot — it simply ignores it as if it were never there. If you disable all slots, the blend shows nothing.

Why does the blend look different when I change the weights even though the slot lines did not change?

The weights change how much each slot contributes to the blend, not what the individual slots calculate. If you increase Stoch 03's weight from 33 to 70, the blend will shift toward Stoch 03's K value. The slot lines themselves are unaffected — they are independent calculations. Only the composite changes.