Ed W8EMV 
operating notes for tonight's net, in blog form
https://vielmetti.typepad.com/w8emv/2024/01/operating-notes-2-meters-simplex-with-the-tk-790.html
featuring simplex operations (which get better with practice) and the unknown of squelch settings.
operating notes: simplex ARPSC public service net following the weekly ARPSC regular net. I was on the air for about 45 minutes.
My less than perfect antenna setup is better at TX than RX, and I haven't yet fully figured out the squelch on my Kenwood TK-790. I understand that several stations heard me.
Matt #WS8U helpfully served as a relay, he is a few blocks away. But I think with better antenna placement + better squelch control that my 2 meter simplex setup can improve.
Do you have saddle bags, instead of a trailer?
I was able to pack a 45W heavy Kenwood TK-790 and all of its parts plus a battery into a grocery bag that slid into a single camping saddle bag mounted on my back rack and set up and operate in a local park.
That was a first field test - slow to set up, slow to tear down, requiring a tree for the antenna - but I'm convinced I could do better and also that I could haul about 2x the gear I did before using a second saddle bag.
long and rambling #tk790 bicycle mobile park activation writeup on its way to the blog, but it's super late and I need some photos. maybe this weekend.
Progress:
Filled a reusable tyvek grocery bag with a radio. Kenwood 2 meter #TK790 45W ex-railroad de @w8tam (heavy), LiFePO4 battery (also heavy), power cables, mic, speaker, #N9TAX roll-up Slim Jim antenna (for a tree). All in cloth bags for padding.
Grocery bag fits with a little coaxing into my Ortlieb "Bike Packer Plus" pannier. I don't know how much it weighs, but more than typical groceries. Pannier rating: 18kg.
To a nearby park to test next.
Kenwood KES-4 speaker heading my way (used, via eBay). This is the one that has has the weird 9-pin square plug that's on the Kenwood TK-790 2 meter radio.
The TK-790 radio also has a weird mic plug (round with pogo pins). I was able to confirm that everything was working last week with a brief QSO, but I didn't have a speaker on the radio so I tuned in via my SDR in the attic.
Thanks to #W8TAM for programming this rig. An eventual goal is to use it for 2m digital modes.
Had a good time at the Chelsea (Michigan) ham radio swap. Met some regulars on my 2 meter morning net on the #N8DUY repeater who I had not previously seen in person, and picked up a #Kenwood #TK790 from Thom @w8tam which he has already fixed up for ham radio use.
The Chelsea swap was also a "Vintage Electronics Expo", so there was also a lot of 1960s-1990s gear of various sorts there.
Next swap: Monroe (MI) Hamfest and Computer Show, on Fathers Day 2023-06-18.