Trading FX with Expert Advisors
Friday, 29th June, 2007
While we are waiting for the end-of-week results, let me give you this information on what Expert Advisors are and requirements for trading forex with expert advisors.
Expert Advisors or EAs are soltware programs written in MQL4 to automate forex trading on MT4 platform. EAs not only can analyze the situation on the market and notify you of trading opportunities but also can execute trades on your trading account as well as putting pending stop-loss and take-profit orders.
So, what are the requirements to trade FX usign EAs. Apart from opening an account with one of the online brokers who support MT4 trading, you’ll need a server that runs and connects to the Internet 24/7. There may be some EAs that don’t require you to always turn on your PC and the trading program all the time, most will require it to work properly.
Your server needs not be one with very high specs but just a desktop or a laptop for general uses. I use an old desktop that has been left collecting dust after a recent upgrade. I connect it to my office ADSL router with 1 mbps Internet bandwidth which is shared with other PCs in the office. I figure this fx trading server probably requires a much smaller bandwidth but never test it. You should set the BIOS so that the server automatically reboots after a power failure. To relaunch the MT4 trading program at a reboot, I use a free program called Startup Control Panel to set it up.
You’ll need to remotely access your “EA Trading Server” from time to time. This can be easily achieved through a free service by LogMeIn.
I’ve seen in a forum people talking about a kind of EA hosting service where the hosting guy hosts the MT4 program on his server which is partitioned for each customer. I’ve never tried one so cannot say too much about it. Anyway, my present solution is working fine so far.