1 Introduction Microcontroller (or single-chip microcomputer) technology has permeated all aspects of life and is widely used in home appliances, communications, testing, and other fields. Therefore, this technology is positively impacting people's lives. This paper presents a test system design based on the MSP430 microcontroller. The MSP430 series microcontroller is an ultra-low-power mixed-signal controller manufactured by TI. Its flexible clock source selection can maximize battery life, and it integrates a wealth of peripheral modules. Different models in this series are designed for different application areas. 2 System Design 2.1 Introduction to Storage Test Principle Storage test technology is a new testing method that began in the 1970s. Storage test involves placing a miniature data acquisition and storage tester within the test object under conditions that have no impact or the impact is within an acceptable range. Information is rapidly acquired and stored in real time on-site, and the recorder is retrieved afterward. The test information is then processed and reproduced by a computer—a dynamic testing technology. 2.2 System Working Principle Figure 1 is a block diagram of the test system based on the MSP430 series microcontroller. This testing system features programmable settings. A trigger signal activates the microcontroller to enter sampling mode, sampling A/D converter data at a specific sampling frequency determined by the microcontroller's internal timer. The sampled data undergoes analog-to-digital conversion via the microcontroller's internal 12-bit A/D converter before being stored in memory. When the testing system is recycled, it can communicate directly with a computer via an RS232 serial port to store data for subsequent processing. System design must fully consider design requirements, component performance, electromagnetic compatibility, system stability, operability, and reliability. 3. System Hardware Design The system hardware design mainly includes sensors, analog adapter circuits, an MSP430 microcontroller for data acquisition and storage, and interface units. Signals from the sensors are converted by the microcontroller's internal A/D converter after passing through the analog adapter circuit. The conversion result is then stored in memory via the microcontroller's I/O ports. An asynchronous RS232 serial communication interface is used to read data. After testing, the computer handles data communication, display, and processing. The power management section is controlled by a microcontroller to supply power to the memory and analog circuits, thus extending battery life. Using the microcontroller's on-chip A/D converter not only reduces system design complexity but also improves system reliability, thereby avoiding complex interface design and reducing PCB area. The system communicates asynchronously with the computer via RS232 serial port. A MAX232 device is used to implement the interface conversion between the microcontroller and the computer. A 0.1μF capacitor is connected to each of its pins C1+, C1-, C2+, C2-, V+, and V- for charging to meet the requirements of the corresponding charge pump. Pins T1OUT, T1IN, R1OUT, and R1IN are the output and input pins for RS232 conversion (transmit and receive), respectively, enabling the conversion between the microcontroller's TTL level and the host computer's interface level. To reduce input interference, a 0.1μF capacitor is also connected to the power input pin of the device for filtering. The MAX232 uses a power supply voltage of 0.3–6 V. The voltage levels on the pins R1IN and T1OUT for the computer interface are ±30 V and ±15 V respectively, while the voltage levels on the pins T1IN and R1OUT for the microcontroller interface are -0.3 V (Vcc is -0.3 V) and 0.3 V (Vcc is +0.3 V) respectively. The microcontroller uses a 3.3 V power supply, therefore the MAX232's power supply voltage Vcc is 3.3 V. (See Figure 2). 4. System Software Design Software design is also a crucial part of the test system design. The general process of software design is: clarifying the software design task; dividing the program into functional modules and drawing flowcharts; selecting a programming language and programming; and debugging the program. State design is the process of determining the state organization structure of the storage test system based on the motion laws of the object under test. It is the key to realizing the functional design, the basis for hardware design, and an effective means of establishing a basic storage test system. State design allows the design concept to be clearly integrated throughout the design and debugging process, simplifying the originally complex design process to varying degrees. System State Transitions: After the system is powered on, the microcontroller is in a homing state, waiting for the sampling start signal. At this time, the system is in an ultra-low power state, consuming only about 1μA of current. Upon the arrival of the trigger signal, the system begins cyclic sampling. After sampling is complete and the memory is full, sampling stops and the system enters a low-power waiting-to-read state. In the waiting-to-read state, the reading port is connected. When the microcontroller's I/O port receives a rising edge from the computer, it begins sending data to the computer. This involves first reading data from the memory into the microcontroller, and then sending it to the computer via the microcontroller's serial port. After sending, the system returns to the low-power state. Figure 3 shows the system state diagram. 5. Test Results The system test experiment used a 1 Hz sine wave generated by a signal generator. The readings after data acquisition are shown in Figure 4. The system fully implements the triggering and sampling process. Figure 4 shows the single-channel test waveform obtained through the experiment. The output is completely consistent with the given input signal, fully demonstrating the feasibility of this scheme. 6. Conclusion The test system was designed using the MSP430 series microcontroller. Data acquisition was performed using the 12-bit A/D converter provided within the MSP430 series microcontroller. This method greatly simplifies circuit design and enables high-precision measurement results. Furthermore, due to the ultra-low power consumption design of the MSP430 series microcontroller, the test system features small size, low power consumption, strong anti-interference capability, and no leads.