There were Kenwood low bands and Midland low bands in some (damn few) SHP cars and other agencies using the SHP low band freqs, and several MaraTracs as well. There were even some (damn few again) CDM1550 low bands out there. I would know because I installed them. With the unreliability of the units and cheap construction (lack of durability) of the accessories, the Kenwoods may, and the Midlands for sure, are gone now. In fact, if a car came in to be stripped, we would remove any Midland or Kenwood units and place them in the "back of the line" for reinstallation. A new car always got a Syntor or a MaraTrac if one was available, and as we kept all the spare Syntors in the best shape possible, we never had to reinstall a Kenwood or a Midland. The MaraTracs are still in service and doing well.
The Syntors are very tired and badly need to be replaced, but they're still more reliable than the Junkwoods and Craplands. The great majority of the Kenwoods were plagued with intermittent problems and became known as the "can you hear me now?" radio. When they worked, they worked OK, but reliability was a real problem.
The Midlands weren't particularly troublesome, but they have really ****ty receive audio, poor receiver performance, cheaply constructed accessories, and just don't have the transmit audio quality or power that the Syntors and MaraTracs have.
The MaraTracs are relatively new as they were some of the last manufactured by Motorola and are doing very well. The Vertex aren't nearly what the Syntors were quality and durabilitywise, but they're serving fairly well so far.
The 154.680 repeater system is still up and operating in some areas, though what purpose it serves is a mystery as the huge majority of any mobiles and portables used on it are now removed from cars and personnel. I'll see what I can find out.
Almost half of the VIPER sites are in place and capable of operating, but not all are on line due to other factors, like microwave changes, reworking of trunking hierarchies as the system expands, no other 800 stuff in the area and consequently no portables being distributed, etc. The state seems to be going slowly and deliberately forward with VIPER in such a manner as to eliminate the problems other systems have experienced. If it means anything, the state has declared itself as out of the low band business except for whatever it takes to keep it on line until the 800 can take over, so low band future in NCSHP is limited.