The $200 figure sounds optimistic since the frame and the radio each cost around $100, and then you have to add the motherboard, flight controller, motors and props...?
Would you mind establishing a shopping list of what you built, and where you bought each part? I would love to give it a try! ;-)
- Frame (F330 clone $8.90)
- Motors x4 (Turnigy 1000kv, $18.20)
- ESC's x4 (Turnigy 30A, $9.99, flash them with SimonK)
- Flight Controller (KK2.1, € 29.99)
- Transmitter + receiver (Turnigy 9x, € 59.99)
- Props (2CW, 2CCW, $2.46 per 2. Do get extras!)
- Battery (2200Mah 3S 25C, $10.57)
- Charger (Turnigy Balance charger, $22.95)
Total cost: a couple cents over $250. You can do even cheaper when shopping around Chinese webshops, but this should give you a pretty good idea. All of these parts are from Hobbyking, by the way. (Edit: formatting)
1. Instead of buying a cheap, easily-broken "flamewheel" frame (e.g. F330, F450, etc) get something that's much more difficult to break like a One-Piece Quad (OPQ) frame (http://witespyquad.gostorego.com/opq-one-piece-quad-frame.ht...) or learn how to make your own frame out of thin-walled PVC (which really is super quick and easy if you have a heat gun--takes a lot more time using the boiling water method; spend $20 and get a bog-standard heat gun). If you build your PVC frame with a "T fitting" field repairs usually take just two minutes to swap out a broken arm (flamewheel repairs take forever in comparison).
2. The Turnigy 9X Tx (aka "remote control" for the uninitiated =) is pretty good but the FrSky Taranis (~$200: http://www.alofthobbies.com/frsky-taranis-x8r-combo.html) is vastly superior. You will never "outgrow" a Taranis. It runs the open-source OpenTx firmware (infinitely hackable), supports 32 channels plus a new bi-directional communications system named, "Smart Port" (support for which was hacked into MulitWii by yours truly). Before the Taranis, to get a Tx that supported even 12 channels was a $1200-2000 investment. Not to mention one that does everything the Taranis can do (logging to SD card, audio feedback, jillions of switches/knobs/hats, etc). The Taranis has basically made every other Tx obsolete and every Tx over $200 is now a huge waste of money.
3. Get at least one LiPo "charge bag" (~$2). Lithium Polymer batteries, sitting by themselves on the shelf, hooked up to nothing, will occasionally EXPLODE INTO FLAMES THAT CANNOT BE PUT OUT. The chances are small, yes, but those chances go up every time you crash or if you let the charge of the battery get too low. They also go up every time you charge it. Stay safe: Charge your batteries in the bag and also keep them stored in the bag when not in use.
4. Always be aware of how much your quad weighs when flying. A 450mm frame outfitted with a GPS, 2200mAh battery, and a camera can weigh 5-6 pounds and yet can fly well above 400 feet (actually ~5x higher but don't do that!). It's enough to kill someone and/or do very expensive damage to a house, car, or whatever it happens to crash into. Always assume that at any point during a flight any ONE component could fail resulting in "death from the sky": A motor, a propeller, a speed controller, the battery, a connector, the flight controller, the receiver, the battery, the frame, etc. All it takes is just one of those components to fail and it's DOOM.
http://www.seanduffy.co.uk/blog/2013/8/Project:-Quadcopter-B...
I'm not sure what you mean, but there are carbon fibre sheets just like wooden sheets. It's a little harder to cut and more expensive, but it's less likely to break. http://store.scoutuav.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Scout3-...
You can tinker around with the source code. Memory of the APM is limited, though.
They don't add the transmitter and batteries though, which would bring the price easily to $200. But, it is doable.