[raymo]

In addition to what Wayne and Paul have said, if by dials you mean the setting circles, ignore them. Not needed for day to day use. Why do you
look for Octans? Just point the leg immediately behind the weights close to South, [not magnetic South], set the weight shaft to vertical position, with weights and scope attached. Roughly balance the scope in both axes,
so the motors don't have an excessive load on them. Just set the scope
one side of the mount with the weights the other side, and slide the weights up or down the shaft until it is balanced. Balance the other axis by sliding the scope backwards or forwards as necessary until it more or less stays where it is when you let go of it. Adjust your finder scope so
it is aligned with the main scope by making sure that a distant object [say
a streetlight] is centred in both scopes. Start with the weight shaft vertical.[ home position].
Switch on Synscan, enter location, date and time, daylight saving if applicable for where you live. Select two star alignment. If Sirius is selected, press enter, scope will slew in the general direction of Sirius. You must complete the slew yourself using the motor drive buttons. As the scope will usually be some distance from Sirius,
press the rate button [no.2] and select a fairly high motor speed, say
the no.6 button, and press enter button. Slew to Sirius using the finder scope, and centre it in the scope's eyepiece. Press enter, and you will be asked to select the second star from the list offered by the handset.[ scroll up or down].
Select star, press enter and scope will slew to second star. Centre the second star in the finder scope using the motors as before, and then the eyepiece, and press enter. The screen will show " Alignment Successful" if you did everything right. If it shows " Alignment failed," you did something wrong. Don't be too fussy about which stars you choose when learning. There are benefits to be had by using stars in certain positions, but you can think about that later. After displaying "Alignment Successful" the scope will start tracking automatically. A simple two star alignment will result in tracking good enough for casual observing. For more precise tracking for imaging for example, accurate polar alignment will be necessary.
It all sounds a bit difficult, but with a bit of practice, you can be set up for casual observing in just a few minutes.
raymo