1. People before hardware. The hardest part of setting up a mesh network is organizing people. For a mesh to work well you need a lot of people working to set up nodes around town. Finding these people is harder than putting together hardware.

2. Hold regular meetings. We try to meet once per quarter. Sometimes we have 30+ people and sometimes it's just 2 or 3 of us at the pub. Keeping a regular cadence means people can feel confident that if they miss a meeting, there will be another one soon.

3. Create an email list. Add anyone who is interested in the club — this is the easiest way to organize meetings.

4. Use a chat room. Something like Discord, Slack, or Telegram keeps the conversation going between meetings.

5. Get on social media. Set up accounts and advertise your meetings and talk about your achievements. When you get a solar-powered node set up, be sure to talk about it!

6. Connect with your local ham radio club. They're very knowledgeable about radio and they often have access to towers and rooftops.

7. Connect with disaster relief and mutual aid groups. Your local Red Cross, disaster relief agency, or mutual aid group are also often willing to put up repeaters on their buildings.