I've seen that site before, but he only had like a dozen sets listed. Honestly, there are so many hundreds of different models of television out there, that it's going to be very hard to document all of them. The best way to find out is always to open the back and look for yourself. But, you can get a good idea just by looking at the outside. You need to be sure that:
- The set is a 19" (not 20", as some newer sets are).
- The tube has the usual amount of curvature, and isn't flat faced or closer to flat than usual.
- Sony Trinitron sets won't work.
- It's an inline gun set, not delta gun. Delta gun sets will be pretty old (early 70's), although I think RCA made a couple into the 80's. You can tell by looking closely at the tube, you want the individual phosphor groups to have their dots aligned in a horizontal line, not in a triangle. Delta gun sets also have large, complicated convergence assemblies inside, with at least six pots, possibly a dozen.
- Looking inside, you want to ensure that the neck connector looks the same as your arcade chassis.
- Some Zenith sets have the convergence rings in the same plastic assembly as the yoke. This is a bit of a pain because you have to replace that convergence assembly, thus requiring you do a full convergence setup. Most other sets you can just slide the rings off and then put them back on when you swap the yoke.
- If you have a tube tester, test the tube before doing the swap. I've found a couple sets that had weak/dying picture tubes. It's pretty rare, but good to check for if you can.
But, the short answer is that from my experience, most 80's era 19" sets have usable tubes , even some of the early 90's ones. In any case, you shouldn't have to pay $30 for an old TV set. You should be able to get them nearly for free.
-Ian