I recently went through the steps to get DRB III set up in an emulator with a Micropod 2 and I started reading the thread here but despite the thread being very thorough and detailed, some of it was outdated and overall it was just too hard for someone like me to do.
So I did some research and I figured out a new method that only requires 3 steps that are so simple, anyone can do it.
Step 1: Purchase a Micropod 2 clone
Step 2: Download DRB III VMware image
Step 3: Import the virtual machine
That's all there is to it. It's working great for me and everything worked the first try. I used all of the actuator tests and it is communicating completely with my Jeep. Hopefully this post helps others who have wanted DRB III for their Jeeps but felt overwhelmed with dozens and dozens of steps and hours of tinkering.
Bonus: Use ChatGPT alongside DRB III
Enjoy!
So I did some research and I figured out a new method that only requires 3 steps that are so simple, anyone can do it.
Step 1: Purchase a Micropod 2 clone
- This is the one that I bought: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...st_main.5.5e921802jvQzYZ&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
- I bought this was because at the time it was the cheapest one on Aliexpress and it had a $15 off coupon at the time, but any of the listings will probably be fine
- This unit did not need to be soldered, all of the modules worked in DRB
Step 2: Download DRB III VMware image
- The downside to the old method is that you have to do this and that and the other to get it to work
- Instead of doing all of that, you can just download a vmware image that is preconfigured, turn it on and it all works perfectly with zero configuration needed
- Download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hcSip-JR4yg-_dUGbhNL6hcM2TurLECJ/view
Step 3: Import the virtual machine
- After downloaded and decompressing the file in step 2, there will be 3 files and one of them is called "Windows 7 - DRB.ovf"
- Open VMware--it's free, you can use VMware player, workstation or Fusion (mac)--and open the Import dialog
- I am using VMware Fusion on mac and you can get to import by clicking the in the application menu: "File"—>"Import..."
- Select the ovf file from the folder and click the import button.
- It may take a few minutes to complete
- Once it has finished, you will have a "Windows 7 - DRB" virtual machine in your application. Start the virtual machine and you are done!
That's all there is to it. It's working great for me and everything worked the first try. I used all of the actuator tests and it is communicating completely with my Jeep. Hopefully this post helps others who have wanted DRB III for their Jeeps but felt overwhelmed with dozens and dozens of steps and hours of tinkering.
Bonus: Use ChatGPT alongside DRB III
- After you connect your Jeep to DRB you will have to learn how to use DRB III. I'm not great with that kind of stuff so I just used my camera to take pictures of the menus and ask questions to ChatGPT and he walked me through how to find what I am looking for in the menus
- He also knows how to interpret the data, so you can just keep taking pictures and get all of the interpretations you need without having to read the manual
Enjoy!
