Here is a link in this forum that has numerous expedient antenna ideas
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...ad.php?t=37130
I would hazard to say that experimentation is the best learning tool. Keep tinkering with the antenna idea and eventually you will crack the code and find something that will work. Flat (SOTM) antennae have been tried before but to my knowledge they marginally worked if at all.