Modular optical particle counter sensor and apparatus

A method of operating a remotely controlled optical particle counter comprising:

• generating particle count data with an optical particle counting device wherein the optical particle counter device is within a housing and includes a light source that illuminates a gas flow containing particles to be counted, a light detector, and a controller that controls device operation wherein the controller is communicatively connected to a display that is configured to display a calibration status of the optical particle counting device and wherein the controller is communicatively connected to a status light indicator including one or more light emitters on the housing, the controller being configured to operate a programmable status device indicator having stored settings corresponding to a plurality operational states of the optical particle counter;
• controlling operating parameters of the optical particle counting device using a remote computing device connected to the optical particle counting device with a communication network;
• and
• selecting a plurality of light indicator settings of the programmable status device indicator with the remote computing device wherein the selected plurality of light indicator settings for the one of more light emitters correspond to one or more of the plurality of operational states of the optical particle counter.