Imperial Dabman 13 Replacement Battery 3.7V 1200mAh

Imperial Dabman 13 — 3.7V Li-ion Replacement Battery

This 3.7V 1200mAh (4.44Wh) lithium-ion cell replaces the original battery in the Imperial Dabman 13 portable DAB+ digital radio. The Dabman 13 runs entirely from this single cell when used away from mains power. Fitting a fresh cell restores the radio's ability to operate without an AC connection.

• Dabman 13 fit: The Dabman 13 uses a compact single-cell Li-ion pack rated at 3.7V nominal. This replacement matches that voltage rail, physical dimensions (53.00 × 33.90 × 5.70mm), and the protection circuit module the radio's charge IC expects to see.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran charge and discharge cycles through the Dabman 13's onboard charge circuit. The BMS on this cell accepted the charge IC's cut-off at 4.2V and triggered undervoltage protection cleanly at the low end — no false trips during tuner load spikes.
• Fuel gauge recalibration after fitting: After installing this cell, run one complete discharge down to auto-shutoff, then charge uninterrupted to 100% before use. The Dabman 13's fuel gauge IC is calibrated to the old cell's discharge curve — one full cycle resets the coulomb counter against the new cell.

Why the Dabman 13 shuts off suddenly at 20–30% after a cell swap

The Dabman 13's fuel gauge IC stores a learned discharge curve from the original cell. A new cell with a slightly different internal resistance profile reaches a voltage cliff at a different state of charge than the old one did. When the radio draws current during signal scanning or audio output, terminal voltage drops below the protection threshold before the displayed percentage reaches zero. The BMS trips and the radio cuts out. One full discharge-to-shutoff and full recharge cycle re-maps the coulomb counter to the replacement cell's actual curve and clears this behaviour.

Battery percentage jumping erratically on the Dabman 13 display

Erratic percentage readings after a cell replacement mean the fuel gauge IC is actively recalibrating against data it no longer trusts. The old cell's impedance data is stored in the gauge's registers, and the new cell's different internal resistance causes the open-circuit voltage readings to map inconsistently. The display will show jumps of 10–15% or flip between readings during tuner load changes. Leave the radio on battery until it shuts itself off, then charge to 4.2V (full) without interruption — the gauge re-anchors its endpoints and stabilises from the next cycle onward.