A portable radio and battery pack configuration favoring higher available transmit power in explosive atmosphere applications includes a radio device (302) and a battery pack (304) removably attached to the radio device. The battery pack includes at least one of an audio power amplifier (346) and a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (356), and a battery (306) for supplying power to the radio device and to the at least one of an audio power amplifier and a RF power amplifier.