macOS and configuring Multiplus and other VE.Bus devices

OutsourcedGuru

Yesterday I spent a significant amount of time trying other options to configure a newly-purchased Victron Multiplus 12/3000 for a customer.

• Tried installing the Linux app image on an Ubuntu laptop, unfortunately it has an AMD processor and the image was compiled for Intel. The app would load but would become unresponsive. FAIL
• Formerly, I had multiboot installed on the MacBook and could boot up Ubuntu. Given that the MacBook has an Intel processor I had high hopes. Unfortunately, the last OS upgrade took out the multiboot partition so I didn't feel like resurrecting that. FAIL
• The Linux laptop has a VM image with Windows 10 Pro installed. Unfortunately, that VM seems to have lost its connection to wifi. In theory, I would have installed VEConfigure in that. FAIL
• I heard that others got Wine + VEConfigure to work. I attempted to install that using Brew and got nowhere. FAIL
• I happen to have a leftover VE.Bus MK3 USB dongle and hooked that up today at the client site, thoroughly imagining that this would fail to connect. So the RJ-45 cable goes to the Multiplus inside and connects to the dongle. The USB goes to the MacBook and you fire up VictronConnect. Once you turn on the Multiplus it then communicates and shows up in the upper section (the lower one is for Bluetooth-discovered devices). SUCCESS

Clicking on the new device and selecting the gear icon, you're presented with a link to go into advanced mode. You will need a password to continue. Once the password is provided a number of options are available.

It does not include the lithium battery wizard like in VEConfigure but something more rudimentary from the Charger subscreen.