Without an oscilloscope you are essentially blind to the world of
electronics. Only a scope will let you "see" how electronic circuits work.
Seriously, get a scope and learn how to use it (make this a project in
itself), it will make your SSTC project actually possible, rather than just
sticking some components together and watching the result. If i had to
guess, id say 95% (maybe more?) of "complex" electronic prototypes DONT work
before some initial debugging. For circuits that operate at more than a Hz
or so, you need a scope to debug. Its just that simple.
You should be able to "get by" with a 20MHZ bandwidth scope and some cheap
probes, which should be something in the 50-100 dollar range used on ebay.
My first scope was 60MHz and cost 120 bucks on ebay. Since then ive moved
up to more serious equipment in the >$1k range, but then again i take this
hobby too seriously ;-)
Steve