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