Things I wish I knew when choosing before setting up

• First, figure out what interests you about mesh networks: radio? emergency communications? community communication for events?
• Next, go to meshtastic.org and look over the pages, what is there, what is too deep or too shallow to answer your questions
• Some basics:
  • most hand-held portable units are based on one of two chips:  either esp-32 or nrf52840
  • whatever you choose, your first step is to "flash" the units, using a usb cable (usb-c or usb-mini, depending on the device) using chrome and the web flasher app from meshtastic.org
  • this process may differ depending on the chip: in come cases you copy a file over to a drive image, in others, it is done over the cable as an app process
  • there are two versions of firmware so far: beta is actually the working public version, alpha is for those testing new firmware. 
  • both work fine, but if you are starting, go with beta
  • after flashing, disconnect the device and connect via bluetooth (android or iOS) to configure the basic settings:
    • lora region: US
    • hops: 7
    • MQTT: enable
    • bluetooth: no code, just works
    • MQTT pages: enable, msh/US region
  • once you have these working, your unit may see nodes around-this means it works!
  • next steps would be to join certain channels, which means adding a name, some channel information like code and bits, and position settings
  • you may be able to get these from friends or groups, either by simple notes or by a QR code which you can scan with your phone to add to your device (also works to export a QR code)
  • the public default "primary channel" shows position and other data, and is a good way to start
  • charge your unit and take it around, while using your phone as an interface
  • remember: if your phone is online with internet, you can use speech->text on the app
  • if you are using iOS, holding down the node frame will enable "monitor mode"
  • you may find DM or direct messaging works, if it does not, fear not, stick with channels to start
  • have a look at the maps on this home page to see nodes in your area and how they connect
• There are many other things to cover, this is a good start.

Migrated from Apple Server Wiki. Original page ID: a2B9i4c45