You can build your own hardware with options in the docs here
https://meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/
I have enough projects going as it is, so I bought a prebuilt option. I feel it’s very reasonably priced 
https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-pocket
I’m still new, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole but very cool tech. The Meshtastic docs are pretty good, just take your time reading through it can be overwhelming  

 How much money you into it for and what sort of range have you got? 

 Need more radios to test range but with this antenna likely 1-3 miles. 

But they’re fairly cheap. Mine was $90 but there are some you can find closer to $50 

 Id need to figure out a good 50 mile radius solution using meshtastic. I wonder how many devices I would need. 

It would be nice for my local region to have this as a backup. I wouldn't mind paying for it if it helps us all in a disaster situation.