EA Shark 7.0 – Independent Review from a Professional Trader

Forex EA Shark 7.0Before releasing Shark 7.0, I wanted to make sure that everything works as it must be. That’s why I invited a small group of traders to beta test Shark 7.0 on their demo and live accounts and asked them to provide us with their feedback and suggestions.

The most critical but at the same time the most helpful beta tester is a true professional and well known member from the forex community. While my office staff calls him “The Forex Pope” you probably know him under his nickname “Josef.” He has many years’ experience with automated trading systems, and is a moderator, contributor and highly respected senior member of several authority forex forums.

Read on to find out how much profit (lot’s of it) Josef archived on his live account during testing, how he outsmarted the Shark 7.0 and why he calls Shark 7.0 a “Hardcore Scalper.”


Note: Josef wrote this review originally for Donnaforex.com, but allowed to republish it here on Pipburner. And, although I am not 100% agree with what he wrote, I didn’t change or censor it in any way.

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Republished review by Josef starts here

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EA Shark 7.0 – Hardcore scalper from forexeasystems.com

Shark 7.0 is, what I would call, a hardcore scalping system. It is based on a quite interesting strategy and is so far the fastest scalper I’ve ever used. When I started testing it, I had strong doubts whether it could run successfully in a live trading environment. Well, Shark 7.0 proved me wrong.

Back test results

I have come across experts with amazing back tests, which failed on live accounts, but I’ve never come across an expert that fails during back testing, but returns stellar results on live accounts. My opinion is that back tests have a value when they are properly done. However, they have to be taken with a big grain of salt.

EURUSD 2007-2012

Data source: Dukascopy | Modeling quality: 99% |Settings: default

Back test of EA Shark 7 on EUR/USD

GBPUSD – 2007-2012

Data source: Dukascopy | Modeling quality: 99% | Settings: default

Back test of EA Shark 7 on GBP/USD (real ticks)

Well, that’s some “pretty butterflies”, but can we expect the same results during forward trading on live accounts? I don’t think so. Probably, it’s a good idea to divide the profit factor and the net profit by two and multiply the relative DD by two to get a more realistic picture.

Note: For testing with modeled ticks, I used the data provided by Meta Quotes. For testing with real ticks, I used Birt’s Tick Data Suite, which is a very handy piece of software, and tick data from Dukascopy. I also made a back test with shifted data to make sure there are no hidden dates in the code. ;) To view all tests you have to download this zip file.

Live results

As the robot uses very tight stops and does not hold trades longer than a minute or two, I was quite skeptical that it would run successfully on a live account. However, tempted by the back test results, I decided to give it a try.

After a couple of days, I started to feel confident that Shark 7.0 CAN run profitably on live account and changed the lot size from 0.01 to 0.05 lots per trade. May 17, I attached Shark 7.0 to GBPUSD and started playing around with settings. Adding GBPUSD as a second currency pair was a good idea, but playing with settings and disabling the volume and the spread filters turned out to be a very bad idea.

The result: 10% drawdown. Anyway, as it was me who outsmarted the system by disabling the volume and spread filter, I can only blame myself. Actually, the vendor told me not to disable them. After I switched the inputs back, Shark 7.0 pushed the account back to the profit zone with just a couple of trades.

Test log:

08 May …Test started with fixed lots

09 May…Enabled money management, 0.5% risk per trade

17 May…Disabled volume and spread filter and attached the EA to GBPUSD

17 May…Enabled volume and spread filter

Test period: 08 May > 01 June (3 weeks)

Profit: +14.75% (After spread and commission; Trades executed because of disabled filters are not taken into account)

Number of positions: 45

Shark 7.0 before commission

EA Shark 7.0 before commission incl. trades with disabled filters

Note: Graph shows results before commission. Though I know how to use a PC, I am not well trained with excel.

Considering the low risk per trade of 0.5%, +14.75% profit in a bit more than three weeks is a solid figure and much more than I expected.

Verified stats with custom start date – show trades executed with correct settings only.

Verified stats without custom start date – show all trades, including those that were placed because of my experiment with settings.

Logic

A robot that uses stops of 1.5-1.7 pips cannot survive in live forward trading. That was my opinion before I started testing it on my live account. As Shark 7.0 proved me wrong, I started digging to find out what it does.

While I didn’t figure out what activates its trade logic, I believe I understood in details what it does when the logic is active. For better understanding, I made a couple of screenshots.

EA Shark 7.0 logic

Price moved up, and the expert placed a pending sell order very close to the actual market price. SL distance: 1.5-1.7 Pips; TP distance: 9.0 Pips

Shark 7.0 logic

Price kept moving up, and it modified the order SL and TP to keep the distance between the pending order and the market price. When I saw that for the first time I thought “Hey, Thor, SuperScalper, NMI and MDP do the same, just with larger stop loss levels”

EA Shark 7.0 logic described

Now, what is interesting is what happened after the pending sell order became an active order. It placed a pending buy order just one fractional pip above the SL of the active sell order and modified the order to keep the distance of one fractional pip to the SL of the sell order.

How EA Shark 7.0 works

It kept modifying the pending buy order until the SL of the active sell order was below the entry price. After that happened, the pending buy order was deleted.

Note: I used the visual mode for my observations, but I cannot guarantee that the logic description is 100% accurate.

What I didn’t find out:

What activates the logic

First, I thought of Bollinger bands, WP or candle height, but it’s definitely something different. On some candles, the logic becomes active after 10 pips, on other after 30 pips.

How it trails active orders

This is another thing that really confuses me. It trails orders dynamically and in both directions. Example: The trade was 10 pips in profit, and the trailing stop was two pips away from the actual market price; the price went down another three pips, but instant of keeping the distance to the market price, it changed the trailing stop from two pips to five pips and a few ticks later to four pips. First, I thought it was a bug but the vendor says it’s not.

Pros:

+ Though I didn’t figure out what activates the logic, I like the idea behind. As it places orders only when the market moves quickly, there is a great probability given that either a sell or a buy order will close in profit.

+ It uses pending orders only. I consider it to be an advantage, as it decreases slippage greatly.

+ trades two currency pairs.

+ It does not open more than one trade at a time.

Cons:

- As SL is placed very close to the market price, dishonest brokers may play dirty games.

- I am certain that Shark 7.0 will not work with market makers, and results will vary from broker to broker.

- It cannot be used on 4 digit platforms.

- The final version input parameters are limited to money management settings only. Other parameters are not accessible by the user and can’t be changed. To my mind that’s a bad thing for experienced traders as they don’t have much “space” to maneuver with their settings. Who knows, maybe they change that after seeing this post.

- The user manual does not include any information regarding broker and VPS requirements. That’s not a big deal for experienced traders but clearly, a disadvantage for newbies.

Conclusion:

Spike scalpers have large profit potential, but show weakness in case the price doesn’t reverse enough. As Shark 7.0 logic does not depend from reversals alone and returned same nice profits during testing, I believe it has a large profit potential.

However, as mentioned at the beginning of the review, Shark 7.0 is a hardcore scalper and requires optimized trading environment. Dealer plugin, slow execution, high stop levels and bandit brokers will act like poison for this robot.

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Republished review by Josef ends here

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About the author from this review:

Josef is a forex insider with many years’ experience and highly respected moderator, contributor and V10+ senior member on several forex forums. His advices helped thousands of new forex traders all over the world.

Post a comment – win a free license

According to Josef’s review, EA Shark 7.0 is a hardcore scalper with high-profit potential. What is your opinion on it? Let me know in the comment section.

In the end of the week, I will pick the most original comment and the author of it will get a free license.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 3.2/5 (5 votes cast)
EA Shark 7.0 – Independent Review from a Professional Trader, 3.2 out of 5 based on 5 ratings

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Comments

  • Alexander says:
    June 7, 2012 at 6:50 am

    Regarding “The final version input parameters are limited to money management settings only. Other parameters are not accessible by the user and can’t be changed.”

    I made the experience that a large number of input parameters make it more difficult for the ordinary trader to set up the system correctly. Even when all parameters are described in details in the user manual. That’s why I reduced the input parameters for Shark 7.0 to the needed minimum.

    Regarding “The user manual does not include any information regarding broker and VPS requirements.”

    The broker and VPS requirements are briefly described in the user manual. However, I have to admit that choosing a broker and VPS combination what fits the requirements might be difficult for traders who are new to automated forex trading. I will consider adding a “how-to guide” to the package.

    Regarding “As SL is placed very close to the market price, dishonest brokers may play dirty games.”

    I would love to answer “Brokers are honest” but the truth is that there are still a lot of bandit brokers out there. However, you have to consider that the fx community is nowadays better connected than ever. Brokers which use manipulative tricks are exposed quickly and in most cases, they close their doors the same quickly they opened them. I believe that the competition between brokers will increase further and as harder they have to fight for the volume then better because then better the trading conditions for retail traders. Example: Raw spread + 2.50-5.00 USD was something a retail trader could only dream about. Today, these conditions are available on micro accounts where the minimum deposit is 100 USD.

    Regarding “It cannot be used on 4 digit platforms.”

    We disabled the possibility to use it on 4 digit platforms because those few brokers who still use 4 digit price feeds are usually market makers.

    Regarding “I am certain that Shark 7.0 will not work with market makers.”

    Well, Shark 7.0 itself will work. It just so that market makers trade against the client. When the client makes money, the broker loses money and that is something market makers will not accept in the long run. After a while, they would search and find a way to set things straight, which is in their opinion “Broker wins…client loses.”

    Reply

    • i have frist got – ProFX 2.0 then Thor 2 both work great !!!! I will get shark 7.0 soon. It will take a little time once i have make a little more money using these two . I must make 2X the amount of the softwear to buy it i am hafe way there can’t to get ( your programs do work very well and make me money ) thanks alex :)

      Reply

    • Shark does not work. Keep having license recognition problems and when it does operate, it only operates for a loss. It has not made a winning trade YET! Contacted customer service and they are useless! Their only response has been to reboot program. This program is not ready to be sold!

      Reply

      • Alexander says:
        August 21, 2012 at 12:18 am

        Hello Paul. Rebooting helped you to recognize the license again. It may trade in a loss if you do not follow the user guide and picked up a wrong brokerage.

        Reply

    • I would love to bye the shark 7.0 But I need the name of a Broker with low fixed rates. And accepts U.S clients Ive been searching for along time . If you can help I would be greatful. P.S just got profx 2.0 good stuff

      Reply

      • Alexander says:
        January 8, 2013 at 2:02 am

        Hello Pete,
        Great to hear that ProFx 2.0 works for you. In order broker for US clients, take a look at ILQ and FinFx ECN Pro account.

        Reply

  • I was very skeptical until I read “I also made a back test with shifted data to make sure there are no hidden dates in the code.” This is important becasue some vendors have played games by programming their EA’s to skip certain dates when back testing to make their EA’s look better. By shifting the dates, you prevent that. This looks very impressive and worth checking out.

    Reply

  • Jim McLean says:
    June 7, 2012 at 7:01 am

    Josef made some comments about this EA’s suitability for use with some brokers. I’d like to read the vendor’s response to this. If there is a constraint here, we need to be realistic in that we may have to use a different broker so it works effectively.

    Reply

  • Thank you for the laurels Alexander. Would you please tell me who from your guys came up with “The pain”?
    It was Andrew, right?
    BTW – You forget to attach the zip folder with the strategy tester results and graphs.

    Reply

  • + Buy two pairs. + It is not opened more than one free time. – (L minus), it is possible to use a 4-digit substrates. (for example, the EUR-USD 1.2580) Feeling like free license. Timo

    Reply

  • This looks like a very innovative EA. I noticed the broker was Armada markets. They look to have better spreads than the broker I use (Oanda MT4). What is the maximum spread that you recommend for the use of this EA? For instance, Oanda MT4 is commonly EURUSD spread is often at 1.2 these days; is this spread too high to run the EA effectively? The trade management of this EA looks to be unlike any other I have seen….job WELL DONE!

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      June 7, 2012 at 7:28 am

      Personally I prefer brokers with raw spread. Maximum spread for EA Shark – 2 pips for EUR/USD and 2.5 pips for GBP/USD.

      Reply

  • Hi,
    sounds very interesting. Is there any Broker recommendation or requirement related to the spread?
    My comment is: Try and see the results. By the way hiding the parameters is a good idea, because most of the so called experts just messing up the EA and then complain.

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      June 7, 2012 at 7:35 am

      Hello Karl, thank you for a reply. We recommend ECN/STP brokers who offers raw spread. As example, Synergy FX, LMAX, Fin Fx ECN, etc.

      Reply

  • SonicFX says:
    June 7, 2012 at 7:32 am

    How to buy EA Shark 7?

    Reply

  • It looks good to me. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  • The moving TP and SL of the pending orders, really tight stops, and use of both pending buy and sell orders at the same time are fascinating.

    I can’t wait to give this a run!

    Reply

  • This looks like the new standard by which all other scalping robots will be judged! Amazing!!

    Reply

  • Kathleen says:
    June 7, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Amazing, indeed! I hope it works for me.

    Reply

  • It looks to good to be true. But it also looks like it is the truth. Hmmm, I am intrigued :-)

    Reply

  • Benjamin says:
    June 7, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Yes, that’s how a review should look like. I enjoyed reading it.

    @ Alexander
    I will keep an eye on Shark 7.0. Looks like it’s worth it.

    Reply

  • charles says:
    June 7, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    Alex,
    Is there any other alternative way of payment, i would want to pick /buy one.I can pay through Alertpay.com

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      June 8, 2012 at 12:34 am

      Hello Charles, thank you for your question. Please find the e-mail from Forexeasystems in your e-mail box.

      Reply

  • Hi,

    first of, thank you very much for the extensive review. I am quite new to forex trading but I am very interested in it, as i daily have to do with figures an stats in my main business as online marketer.

    Do you have any suggestions for broker / VPS combinations with low latency / fast execution + good trading conditions (ECN/STP brokers).

    Do you generally suggest to use multiple VPS / brokers?

    brgds
    Thomas

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      June 8, 2012 at 8:37 am

      Thank you for your comment and your interest. Please find the answers for your questions below:

      Do you have any suggestions for broker / VPS combinations with low latency / fast execution + good trading conditions (ECN/STP brokers).

      There are many good combinations. Example: Lmax/CNS (Commercial Network Services), SynergyFx/BeeksFx…

      Within the next days, I will add a detailed broker and VPS guide to the user area. Both guides will be available for free for clients and include everything a trader should know about Broker/VPS combinations.

      Do you generally suggest to use multiple VPS / brokers?

      Personally, I use a couple of different VPS’s and broker accounts but for most traders one VPS is definitely enough. Even on basic VPS you can install and run 3-4 terminals at the same time.

      Regards,
      Alexander

      Reply

  • Abubaker Mulindwa says:
    June 8, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    Hi Alexander,
    Just landed on your tool. Am new to trading but find it fascinating. Have the following concerns:
    1. I am depositing $5000 onto a live account but haven’t opened it yet. I am looking at using 0.5 to 2 standard lots to trade. How much return can i be realistically looking at on this account per month ?

    2. I like to trade the news. Can i be able to trade the news and make other currency trades while the robot is working ?

    3. Does my laptop have to be on all the time ? When its off, means no trading ?

    4. I have a mobile MT4 app for android, does this work with that in any way ?

    5. Honestly, what is the best solution for me, Shark or Pro Fx ? I am a short term trader(15-30min) wouldnt mind doing day trades as well though.

    6.What is Broker/VPS combinations in lay mans terms.

    Waiting for your feedback

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      June 11, 2012 at 3:50 am

      Hello Abubaker,

      thank you for your comment and your interest.

      I am depositing $5000 onto a live account but haven’t opened it yet. I am looking at using 0.5 to two standard lots to trade. How much return can I be realistically looking at on this account per month?

      If you use Shark 7.0 with the default settings (very low risk per trade), you can expect to make 10-15% per month.

      I like to trade the news. Can I be able to trade the news and make other currency trades while the robot is working?

      Of course. Shark 7.0 will not touch other trades.

      Does my laptop have to be on all the time? When it’s off, means no trading?

      Yes.

      I have a mobile MT4 app for android, does this work with that in any way?

      I like this apps as they allow me to check what is going on at any time. However, MT4 mobile does not support usage of experts and because of either slow connection speed I would not use them to place live trades.

      Honestly, what is the best solution for me, Shark or ProFx? I am a short term trader(15-30min) wouldn’t mind doing day trades as well though.

      If you prefer manual trading ProFx 2.0. It provides you with accurate signals, and the trading rules are easy to learn. If you prefer to use a fully automated trading system, I recommend you to buy EA Shark 7.0. It’s fully automated and does not require any human interaction after it’s setup.

      What is Broker/VPS combinations in lay mans terms?

      There are many possible combinations. Example: Synergy Fx + Beeks Fx… See also: CNC Latency chart

      Regards,
      Alexander

      Reply

  • Dr. John Bale says:
    June 12, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Very simple question.

    If this EA is that successful. Why don’t you introduce it to a fund? And get 250M USD under management?

    Please explain:)

    John Bale

    Reply

  • Do we already have a winner for the free license? :)

    Reply

  • Swordfish says:
    July 28, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Alex,

    Could you compare EA Shark 7 with Number One EA and NMi Super Scalper in terms of trade and exit strategies?

    Reply

  • Alexander says:
    July 29, 2012 at 9:27 pm

    Hi Alexander,
    I bought your EA Shark 7.0 on last June 2012, now the EA can not work, there is a message appear in my metatrader “No Licence for this Account”. I don’t change the account ID, before this EA worked properly, just on July 27 2012, this EA can not work. I don’t know what happern

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      July 30, 2012 at 1:13 am

      Hello Alexander, we have a problem now with database connection. We are trying to solve the issue as soon as possible. Thanks for patience.

      Reply

  • What’s the ratio P/L for this great system?

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      August 6, 2012 at 9:11 am

      Hello, 55% of trades close in profit and 45% in loss. However, profits usually two times greater than losses.

      Reply

  • Hi. Im new to the forex traiding marked, and was wondering if there are certain traiding platforms that works for EA Shark 7.0. Can I use it on my curret traiding platform? I use a norwegian account caled “norne investor”

    Jon

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      August 9, 2012 at 4:17 am

      Hello Jon,
      EA Shark 7 can be run only on MT4 platform which is supported by the majority of Forex brokers.
      It can’t be run on “norne investor”

      Reply

  • I used two EA’s (MDP and Pipjet) on a Pepperstone Razor Account for a few months.
    The number of variable parameters on each of them is mind boggling.

    However, both of them were fairly useless as they hardly traded – with errors like “Too many requests rejected by broker” or “Trading is too dangerous” or some other obscure message.
    Most of the trades were losses although there were a few small profits.
    The small number of trades executed could hardly justify the purchase price and I asked for and have received refunds.
    When I questioned the broker about the errors he said that if the EA used “STP” processing then it was the banks that were rejecting the trades.
    Now, I’m not an ‘expert’ at all but I understood that it was ‘dealing desk’ brokers that could reject trades and not the banks.

    Under the scenario described above, and I understand there’s not a lot of detail, what can I expect from “Shark 7″?

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      August 17, 2012 at 2:05 am

      Hello Ray,
      According the logic of EA Shark 7 and trading experience, there were no troubles with opening trades on fast brokers as Pepperstone Razor, FX Open ECN, Armada Markets.

      Reply

  • Hi Alexander,

    How come on the Shark 7.0 mt4i site (http://www.mt4i.com/users/forex-ea-shark-7), in the closed trades section I noticed that the Shark EA will open both long and short positions at the same second and close them both with zero elapsed time, for anywhere from -1.7pip loss to 5 pip gain? Can you explain what is taking place here?

    Thanks, Scott

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      August 22, 2012 at 12:59 am

      Hello Scott. MT4i doesn’t show correct time of opening and closing the trades in seconds range. As you see, all trades open time at 00 seconds and close time also 00 seconds. In the real situation, trade may be opened in any second and last for, for example, 14 seconds and close with -1.7 pip. Than the next trade opens and lasts for 12 seconds and closes with a 5 pip gain. So it’s not hedging. It’s the way how MT4i displays statements.

      Reply

  • hi
    i noticed you indicated potential profits of between 10-15% per month.
    Do those figures refer to the amount traded or account balance?
    For example if i operated a small account of 10thous USD with leverage of 1;100 would the 10+% refer to the leveraged trading amounts?

    Reply

  • Thanks for everyone’s comments and reviews. Will you be offering a discount for this EA any time soon?

    Reply

  • nguyen van cuong says:
    October 6, 2012 at 11:03 am

    Hi alexandar, traders guy here.
    i have just bought the Shark 7. I am using it on live account from 21 Sept. Until now it has not traded any order. It has been running with default setting. I already registered on FXpro broker. I also try to increase max spread 3pips for EUR and 4 pips. But it does not work for me. I don’t know reason why.
    I also am using Beekfx as VPS.

    I am wondering in fact whether the robot work or not? Maybe i must request for refunding my money

    Appreciate your replies

    Thanks all,

    Best regards,

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      October 8, 2012 at 1:00 am

      Hello nguyen van cuong,

      The logic of EA Shark triggers only when the market conditions are appropriate.
      So, do not panic and feel free to contact a support team in order to solve your questions.

      Reply

  • this EA is very good

    Reply

  • Hi Alexander,

    I bought EA Shark 7.0 2 wks ago. After leaving it to run on Oanda’s MT4 in VPS for 1-2 wks, there seems to be no trades executed even though everything was setup properly. Pls advise.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  • Is Shark 7.0 NFA compliant? How does it work with only 50:1 leverage? If I use it on a broker with 50:1 leverage and FIFO rules, can I expect to get the same results?

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      October 29, 2012 at 5:33 am

      Hello Jason, EA Shark 7 works okay with leverage 50:1. Results may be different because your broker may have another spread value in some particular moment of time and few more factors as slippage and trades execution time.

      Reply

  • Andrin Frey says:
    October 29, 2012 at 6:32 am

    Hey there,

    i have tried ea shark 7.0 now for a bit… but i wondered about a 17.5 and another 7.2 MINUS pips early this week. I use it on PrimeXM (universalFX), now i’m kinda unsure if i should really use it any further…

    Reply

    • Alexander says:
      October 29, 2012 at 6:45 am

      Hello Andrin. Sorry for bad results this week. However, it may happen that every software has a bad week or so. So, do not panic and use your 60-days no questions asked refund period for testing. Negative period may last for a week and then change to a profitable month.

      Reply

      • Andrin Frey says:
        October 29, 2012 at 11:36 am

        yeah, you know, ist not about the fact that there have been some loosing trades… it’s the fact that there has been two pretty big losing trades, for a Robot that promises (i know that it can’t be on ever losing trade) only 2 pips minus, you know what i mean?

        Reply

        • Alexander says:
          October 30, 2012 at 1:41 am

          In a glance, you had a big slippage. Please contact a support team at support (at) forexeasystems . com with your trading statements.

          Reply

  • Kelvin Cheong says:
    October 31, 2012 at 10:34 am

    Hi Alexander, I would like to request a refund for the EA Shark 7.0. Thanks.

    Reply

  • Hi Alexander

    I have been checking though the black results and the forward tests, very impressive I must say.

    Will this EA work with a broker like ibfx ? Or would I have to change to another broker

    Reply

  • Hi Alexander,

    Always in doubt if it comes to EA’s. I still believe in the magic of being in the market and acting from a human pespective. However I also believe that scalping can only be done by a wellbalanced EA, according to Josefs review, I believe that this one could truely work…for me this would also mean to change broker, but it’s nearly 2013…..so things already needed to change :)

    Happy fishing

    Generaal Goudvis

    Reply

  • What broker/VPS is recommended for USA users to use with Shark? I am ready to open a new account, but noticed that your recommended ones in this thread do not accept account applications from USA. I want to make sure to only open an account at a broker that will work well with this EA. Thanks for info!

    Reply

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