Plasmas confined by a dipole magnet host a multitude of intriguing and non-trivial phenomena, whose physics is not completely well understood yet. We investigate the dipole plasma in a table-top laboratory plasma device, where the plasma is sustained by continuous mode microwaves and run under steady-state operation by employing electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). We present the design of the experimental system along with the details of the diagnostics employed for characterizing the plasma. The plasma parameters are investigated under different conditions of the discharge and are used as input parameters in the modeling results. The experimental results of various phenomena obtained from the time averaged parameters in the plasma, including particle balance, diffusion and diffusion-induced transport are investigated. The phenomena of adiabaticity and drift frequencies dictating MHD stability of the dipole plasma are discussed. Further, we discuss the local electrical conductivity that can be influenced by temperature anisotropy arising due to the dipole magnetic field. Finally, a discussion on the optical emissivity of the dipole plasma is provided with both experimental and modeling results to establish the presence of alternating bright and dark bands in the plasma.