Sounding an Alarm When Internet Connection is Lost

I'm having trouble with losing connectivity to the internet that I suspect is due to my new NetGear PowerLine 1200 power line setup. Here is my network:

My cable modem is attached to White Castle and the network is extended by Pizza Hut to the part of my home where I work. When the network was extended using wi-fi, devices attached to White Castle experienced download speeds of 120 Mbps (according to speedof.me), vs. devices attached to Pizza Hut, which were getting only 15 Mbps (probably due to intervening walls). In an attempt to speed things up, I connected White Castle to Pizza Hut using the power line adaptor, which uses my home electrical system as if it were an ethernet cable. The speed increase was dramatic: devices on Pizza Hut now get 70 Mbps download speeds.

Unfortunately, around the same time I started experiencing dropped internet connections, but only for devices connected to Pizza Hut. This happens several times a day while my attention is on some bit of work I'm doing, and I expect it's because of the power line adaptor.

I'm wondering:

1. Whether there's an Automator workflow or some kind of script I could use to periodically check my internet status and sound an alert if it drops
2. Whether anyone has any tips for troubleshooting power line adaptor issues

I appreciate any advice I can get.