# Signal Moving Average Signal Moving Average is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®. Signal Moving Average is a purpose-built signal line for moving average cross systems: it tracks price like a normal average in trends but deliberately pulls away during ranges, cutting whipsaw crosses and the transaction costs they generate. A color-coded fill shows which side of the line price is on, and the line changes color only when a trend is detected. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Sep 12, 2022. - Access: free. - Concepts: [Moving Average Crossovers](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/moving-average-crossovers/) (primary) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=cmpwn5rkn0084vhsgfeq9j61j - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/signal-moving-average/ The **Signal Moving Average** exists for one job: being the slower half of [crossover systems](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/moving-average-crossovers/). In a trending market it behaves like a standard moving average of the same period; in a ranging market it deliberately diverges away from price. That single behavior attacks the crossover trader's worst enemy (the cluster of meaningless crosses that congestion produces), because a line standing apart from the chop simply cannot be crossed as often. ## How to Trade the Signal Moving Average? - **Green fill between price and line**: price is above the signal line. The shaded area gives the bullish/bearish read at a glance. - **Price crossing the line**: with range-born crosses suppressed, a cross that does occur carries more weight than the same event on a plain average. - **Line color**: the signal line only recolors once a clear trend emerges, and it holds its last trend color through ranges, so the color shows the latest trend reading, not whether the market is ranging. - **Pair it with a faster average**: run it as the signal leg beneath a quicker moving average to refine entries. Set against a simple moving average of the same period, the design's cumulative count of price/line intersections grows far more slowly through choppy stretches, exactly the crossings that rack up transaction costs without ever producing a trend. ## Signal Moving Average Settings - **Length**: the moving average period. - **Src**: the source series the average is computed on. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Why does the line drift away from price in ranges? That distance is the feature. When price coils sideways, a conventional average sits inside the congestion and gets crossed constantly; by diverging, the Signal Moving Average keeps those crosses from firing, sparing you whipsaw trades and the frictional costs attached to them. ### What should I pair it with? Its natural partner is price itself or a faster moving average, with this line acting as the slow signal leg. For a study in the opposite philosophy, the [Moving Average Converging](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/moving-average-converging/) is built to close the gap toward price rather than open it. Comparing the two clarifies what each behavior buys you. ### How do I get the Signal Moving Average? It is free in the LuxAlgo Library. Open it from this page, and if you want to trial a crossover pairing first, run it in Quant, our coding agent, without any setup. You can also copy the source code from this page and run it anywhere Pine Script® runs. ## Related indicators - [Signal Forge](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/signal-forge/) (Moving Average Crossovers): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/signal-forge.md - [LuxAlgo - Screener (S&O)](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/luxalgo-screener-s-o/) (Moving Average Crossovers): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/luxalgo-screener-s-o.md - [MA of MA](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/ma-of-ma/) (Trend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/ma-of-ma.md - [Moving Averages Proximity Oscillator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/moving-averages-proximity-oscillator/) (MA Ribbon): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/moving-averages-proximity-oscillator.md - [Golden Cross](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/golden-cross/) (Trend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/golden-cross.md - [FVG Positioning Average](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/fvg-positioning-average/) (Dynamic S/R Via MA): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/fvg-positioning-average.md - [Expanded Cloud](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/expanded-cloud/) (Dynamic S/R Via MA): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/expanded-cloud.md - [MA Sabres](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/ma-sabres/) (MA Slope Filter): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/ma-sabres.md --- Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/signal-moving-average/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/