Why do you want to find North? Tasssie is down under! I have an equatorial mount and I set it up as follows:
Put tripod with fully extended legs on grass lawn, I then get the axis to point SOUTH by using the same method that Capt Cookie used to find Australia - ie with a magnetic compass. I thought I would be techno and savvy and used my iphone compass. Rubbish. It pointed in different direction each time I switched it on! Use the old fashioned accurate methods - not gimmiky cheap electronics. You need to find what the magnetic variation is in your locality. In northern Tas it is near enough 14 degrees East. (Variation East, steer least. Variation West, steer best!) ie set compass to point exactly to 166 degrees magnetic. That is now pointing 180 degrees True (due South).
Once your tripod is set up Due South, mark around the feet. go and get 3 bricks and carefully cut a brick shaped bit of turf out around each foot. Lift up each foot in turn, insert brick (level with grass) and place foot down on brick. Draw a circle around each foot in paint and hey presto, you can lift tripod off and put it in shed, and next time, place feet back on marks, and you are aligned! Easy, Eh?
