A new keyboard has arrived, the Ducky One DKON1608 with Cherry MX Brown switches. At work, I’ve used a Ducky Zero keyboard for some years now, which I’m very happy with. For a long time, I’ve wanted a mechanical keyboard at home also. This Cyber Monday I bit the bullet and with a modest discount got a Ducky for home.

I chose the light keys because of the higher contrast and a nice color scheme for the looks. I’m pleased to see that it came with black printing on the keys. I already read a user review mentioning that the labels on the keys were black instead of the dark green that most pictures show. That means higher contrast, so that’s good. I didn’t choose lightening to keep the price down and because I don’t always like the effect on mechanical keyboards.

I have two minor annoyances with it: Firstly, the calculator button sits above the Num Lock key, while the Ducky Zero has it top right, above the minus key. I use it quite often, so that will need some getting used to. I’ll use it a lot less at home, through. So that probably isn’t going to be a major issue.

Secondly, the Fn key of the Ducky Zero is replaced with a Windows key on the Ducky One and the menu key (context key) is replaced by the Fn key. I use the menu key quite extensively and the Fn key never gets used. So that will need some getting used to also. Shift + F10, here I come!

Overall, I’m happy with it. The blue leds aren’t very bright. And I will see what I can do with the Fn key situation. It looks quite stunning sitting on my desk.

The day after I wrote this, I looked into the Fn key situation and noticed some Dip switches on the back that let me make it behave like the Ducky Zero. So on the right of the spacebar, there now is Alt, Fn, Menu and Control. Now I only have to switch the keycaps of the Win and Fn key and remember that the Win key is actually the menu key. Because of the unique green color scheme, it’s not possible to replace the Win keycap with a keycap that says “menu” on it.