Coil + News Setup
The coil + news setup is the highest-scoring swing setup in the OPERATOR system. A stock builds energy in a tight base (coil) and a news catalyst ignites the breakout. Scanner 1 (SwingGate_CoilNews) detects both the coil and the news signature simultaneously.
What a Coil Is
A coil (also called a base or consolidation) forms when a stock's price range tightens over 7–21 days. Volume contracts. Bollinger Bands squeeze. The stock is "storing energy" as buyers and sellers reach equilibrium. The coil ends when one side overwhelms the other — ideally triggered by a catalyst.
The Scanner 1 fix addresses this directly: it now uses Average(BollingerBands().UpperBand, 10) separately from the lower band computation, avoiding the ThinkScript error that occurred when averaging a derived variable.
What the News Signature Looks Like
TOS ThinkScript cannot read headlines. Scanner 1 detects the news fingerprint instead: unusual relative volume (2×+ average) on a breakout candle in the upper 60% of its range, occurring after a volume contraction period. This pattern almost always accompanies a real catalyst.
Your manual Gate 5 check confirms the actual news: go to finviz.com, enter the ticker, check the news tab. What was the catalyst? Is it specific to this company? Is it confirmed? Company-specific confirmed catalysts rank highest.
Entry Protocol — Not the Breakout Candle
Scanner 1 fires on the breakout day. You do not buy the breakout candle. That's a day trade entry. The OPERATOR swing entry is 1–3 days later, on the first pullback to EMA21 after the breakout.
Why: the breakout candle is when everyone else is buying. The first pullback separates weak buyers (who sell on any dip) from strong buyers (who add on pullbacks). When the pullback holds the EMA and bounces on low volume — that's your entry. Stop below EMA21 or below the coil base.
The corrected SwingGate_CoilNews (v2) is in OPERATOR_SWING_3PASS_TOS_SCRIPTS_v2_FIXED.txt in your TOS Script Library. This version resolves the "invalid statement: def" error by computing BB band spread averages separately. Copy and paste the code to replace the previous version.
What Good Coil Setups Score on Scanner 1
| Component | Score contribution | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Price in range | 10 | Gate 1 basis |
| Volume ≥ 500K | 10 | Gate 1 liquidity |
| BB squeeze (spread10 < spread30 × 0.65) | 15 | Coil confirmed |
| News signature (vol 2×+ on breakout) | 20 | Catalyst presence |
| Breakout candle quality | 10 | Buyers decisive |
| Near 20-day high | 10 | Breakout from structure |
| EMA stack 9>21>50 | 10 | Gate 2 structural trend |
| RSI 45–72 | 10 | Not overextended |
| NVTS guard clear | 5 | Not chasing a run |
| Total possible | 100 | Score 80+ = strong setup |