You can complete the next steps during the day once you have installed the pole finder on the MiniTrack.
3.1 Place the MiniTrack on your tripod and point the mounted polar scope towards a distant object, such as a church tower, chimney
or pylon.
3.2 Look through the pole finder optics and adjust the viewfinder until the object is in focus.
3.3 Centre the object in the middle of the pole finder and turn the pole finder 180 degrees in its bracket.
3.4 Observe how far the object has moved from the crosshair. This drift occurs because the pole finder is not yet exactly aligned with
the MiniTrack’s rotational axis.
3.5 Use the hex key and move the object halfway towards the middle of the crosshair using the three adjusting screws.
3.6 Centre the object in the middle of the crosshair by moving the tripod and turn the pole finder
180 degrees. Has the object moved from the center again? If so, repeat steps 3.5 and 3.6 until the object no longer drifts from the
center.
Aligning the mount with the north celestial pole
Note: There are different methods for aligning the mount with the pole. We are describing the method which uses the images on the
reticule.
4.1 Orient the mount towards the North until you see the Pole Star in the pole finder. Adjust the focus using the viewfinder if
necessary.
Figure 2: Reticule plate with images
4.2 Find the images of the constellations Cassiopeia and the Plough in the pole finder, if you are in the Northern hemisphere, the
Southern Cross, and Achernar for the Southern hemisphere.
4.3. Using the naked eye, pinpoint the same constellations and memorize their current positions.
4.4 Look through the polar scope and rotate it until the positions of the images in the pole finder correspond with the current position
of the constellations.
Note: As you are looking through a miniature telescope, you are not seeing the real constellations in the sky, but only their images on
the transparent reticule plate and a restricted visual field around the polar region. You, therefore, need to compare the actual view of
the constellations with the pole finder’s position.
4.5 Adjust your tripod’s azimuthal and vertical axes until the Pole Star is located within the circle at the center of the crosshair. Your
mount is now aligned with the northern celestial pole. In the Southern hemisphere, Sigma and Chi Octantis should be aligned with
their images.
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