Thanks Satya!  

All the time spent in designing and re-designing the suspension and vibration dampening parts has really paid-off!

I'll upload the accelerometer graphs during 'Loiter mode' soon. You'll be nothing short of amazed!

Awesome ! Great build sir

Thank you! 

The final and most important test was flying in Loiter mode and acquiring the IMU data to see how effective the design is.

Even though it seems that the quad is swaying after activating loiter, it's really the camera that's moving. My camera-man was a bit shaken after the quad rocketed upwards. Anyways, check-out the video! 

Edited: I posted data from a previous build by mistake in this reply. Please check later posts for the correct data.

I'd like to thank the following people who make this hobby great!

1) Satya "satyagupta" (quadkopters.com): For replacing a month old GPS module without asking questions and for being a really nice guy!

2) Vishal "vishalrao" (kinetichobbies.com): For introducing me to the super-awesome Haiyin LiPos!

3) Santanu "santanucus": Fighting for our hobby and for sending me a free prop-adapter!

And finally, RCM for organizing this competition!

Wonderful Swapnil! All the best!

And thanks a ton for sharing the epoxy tip. Will try that now on my planes

Wondering why the second coat uses a mix of 5 min and overnight epoxy?

Thanks Vishal!

The '5min + overnight' epoxy thing simply reduces the setting time of the 'over-night' epoxy. It was also suggested by a friend who owns a hardware store nearby. He said a lot of carpenters and masons do that to get 'best of both worlds'. Araldite sells a special 5min 90g package for mixing with the over-night epoxy.

It's not necessary to do that step unless you are in a hurry. I simply coat my MDF robotic parts with one coat overnight epoxy and another coat of 5-min epoxy for getting a smooth finish.

That tip really is going to help me a lot. Overnight epoxy has way too long setting time and 5 min, too less. Wanted something in between. And this seems to be perfect! Thanks again

You are welcome Swapnil, really its been a very long time since that happened let it go now

I think the magic was in the frame that was able to remove the vibration and stopping it to reach the frame.

Okay, this sounds a bit like preaching, but time doesn't change the fact that you did a nice thing.
I know many sellers have a replacement policy and would have shown the same gesture.

But, I mentioned it here for a reason. Back then I was ready to quit on quads and go back to planes because every other part of the quad kept failing. I was going to sell the whole set. But, after you sent me that GPS everything started working.

So, even if it doesn't seem like a big deal to you now, that was the point where I really got into quads. The GPS module doesn't play a big role in this quad, but I wouldn't have reached here without it. 

I am very happy that this gesture turned out to be such a fun filled experience for you. Glad to be a part of it

Thanks

So as another test, I went ahead and mounted a raspberry pi camera on a Pi 2 with a long range WiFi adapter (pic attached).

Note that I haven't used any 'gimbal' or stabilizing system for the camera. There's no jello or jitter or shakes of any kind!  

Please do not watch the following video in full-screen. It's a 640x480 vid and looks crappy when maximized.

The IMU graphs I attached with post# 29 were actually for a previous version of this build. As you can see in the attached picture, I had placed the main plate on a slab of sponge which wasn't very effective against low frequency vibrations.

The IMU graphs for the current build are even better!

The Acc X vibrations are within + and - 0.075G! It's slightly higher than that for the Accy Y as the motor arms are along the X axis.

Pic. 1: Full graph of Acc X during loiter.
Pic. 2: Zoomed in graph.

The Acc Y graph, as mentioned in th last post, is the best! The vibrations are within + and - 0.05G!
If you've used an APM before and have worked with dampening systems, you know how seriously cool that is!

Pic. 1: Full graph of Acc Y during loiter.
Pic. 2: Zoomed in graph.

And here's the AccZ graph. My previous 360 sized quad used to bob up and down. This one maintains rock-steady altitude!

Pic. 1: Full graph of Acc Z during loiter.
Pic. 2: Zoomed in graph.

Here's the holiday special for iQuad! Do watch it if you like Japanese music!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY SATURNALIA EVERYONE!