What it does
The SMI Ergodic Indicator is William Blau's True Strength Index presented with a signal line: it double-smooths the bar-to-bar price change with two EMAs (commonly 5 and 20), divides by the double-smoothed absolute change, and pairs the result with an EMA signal line (commonly 5). The double smoothing strips noise while the normalization keeps the line in a bounded oscillation around zero. 'Ergodic' is Blau's name for this smoothed-momentum family.
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “SMI Ergodic Indicator” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- The primary signal is the main line crossing its signal line: cross up for longs, cross down for shorts, best taken in the direction of the larger trend.
- Zero-line position defines bias: above zero net momentum is bullish, below zero bearish; zero crosses confirm trend changes.
- Extreme readings relative to the indicator's own recent range mark overbought/oversold zones for anticipating signal-line crosses.
- Divergences with price at swing highs/lows are high-quality warnings because the heavy smoothing filters trivial wiggles.
- Pair with a structure or volume filter, and prefer signals that occur after the line has stretched away from zero rather than mid-range flutter.
Inputs
| Input | Type | Default | Range / Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortlen | number | 5 | 1–2000 |
| Longlen | number | 20 | 1–2000 |
| Siglen | number | 5 | 1–2000 |
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| Indicator | line | #2196F3 |
| Signal | line | #FF6D00 |
| Oscillator | histogram | #FF5252 |
Every plot's color, line width and visibility can be changed on the Style tab. Precision (default 4 decimals), price-scale labels and status-line values are configurable at the bottom of the Style tab.
Reference levels
| Level | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
Level values, colors and line styles are editable in settings.
Tips
- Merge multiple oscillators into one pane from the legend ⋯ menu to compare them on a shared axis.
- Double-click the plot to open settings directly, skipping the legend hover.
- The pane keeps its height in saved layouts, so size it once and it survives reloads.
Watch out for
- Double smoothing means real lag: crosses fire noticeably after turns, hurting performance on sharp reversals.
- In tight ranges the main and signal lines braid together and crosses become coin flips.