Custom solar 5v iPhone charger I have a solar panel that emits 5 volts, and I would like to try to charge my iPhone with it. Should I connect the I/O wires directly behind the lightning plug, or is the big transformer block important? 

I guess the block is used to change the voltage to 5 volts so that the iPhone can handle it, but I'd like to be sure.
Note: this will require soldering, and I'm not 100% sure this will work.

First, take a lightning cable, and cut roughly 2 inches off of the cable on the usb male end. Strip the main wire down a bit, and you should probably be left with 4 mini wires. Take the red and black wires, and connect them to the I/O of the solar panel, via soldering.

Again, I'm not completely sure how a lightning cable works, but I believe this should work.

Here is an example how to get this done: How to make a Solar USB charger!