Locating Polaris
Polaris is one of the brightest stars in the northern sky and it is located between the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia constellations. If you are unsure or having trouble locating it, locate the Big Dipper first. Notice the two outer stars that make up one side of the bowl of the dipper. Draw an imaginary line between them and keep the straight line going out away from the dipper. At about 5 times the distance between those two stars you will see a bright star, that is Polaris.
Polar axis aligning the ECH-630
The ECH-630 has two peep hole sights that go through the body of the unit and are there for polar alignment.
When you mount the ECH-630 make sure these peep hole sights are at the top of the unit.
Even through the instructions do not say so, the larger peep hole has about a 4-degree field of view and that is to get Polaris close to center. Using your tripod head get Polaris as close to centered as you can in the larger peep hole.
The smaller peep hole has about a 2-degree field of view. Now you should see Polaris somewhere in its field-of-view and you can use the fine adjustment knobs on the SMH-250 Micro motion mount (sold separately) to get it perfectly centered in the small peep hole sight.
Once you have done this you have completed aligning the ECH-630.
A note on the SMH-250
Because aligning the ECH-630 with Polaris, (the North Star) is critical for star tracking, Slik recommends using the accessory SMH-250 micro motion mount. It holds the ECH-630 at about a 45-degree angle away from tripod head for easier use of the peep holes for sighting and aligning while allowing easy movement of a faction of a degree. While this accessory is not necessary it does make polar alignment much easier.
After mounting the camera, it is highly recommended that you check the smaller peephole again to see if the ECH-630 has shifted slightly. If it has use the fine adjustment knobs on the SMH-250 to re-center Polaris for best stellar tracking.
