Devices like the Pinephone & Librem 5 with hardware disconnects lead me to find the uConsole. Yes, the Clockwork’s cellular module can be disconnected, but how could someone take it a step further?
It seems to be a golden opportunity for a quick disconnect like in the aforementioned examples. Could it be done without radical changes that compromise the robust structure/design? I do not have a broad view on the subject/concept.
The mini PCIe socket is not designed for hot-plug, the ext board should need pop it up and slide it out from a angle that is not parallel with main board.
Also the LTE module is bigger than the opening hole on chassis, you may need a lot of physical changes on the LTE board and chassis. (maybe LTE module can be enabled/disabled from a GPIO? This should do the trick.)
A slight hardware mod by disconnecting the PCIe traces and adding a transistor controlled by a GPIO should work
Those traces are pretty sensitive to things like impedance, and are length matched – i don’t think putting a transistor on them will work… i would check to see if there’s an enable pin on the modem itself you can tie to.