Powershell TCP client with error handling - powershell

Question

I need help with a Powershell TCP client that can monitor when the server closes the connection. The starting point for this code is from here and looks like this:
## Connect-Computer.ps1
## Interact with a service on a remote TCP port
param(
[string] $remoteHost = "localhost",
[int] $port = 23
)
try
{
## Open the socket, and connect to the computer on the specified port
write-host "Connecting to $remoteHost on port $port"
$socket = new-object System.Net.Sockets.TcpClient($remoteHost, $port)
if($socket -eq $null) { return; }
$stream = $socket.GetStream()
$writer = new-object System.IO.StreamWriter($stream)
$buffer = new-object System.Byte[] 1024
$encoding = new-object System.Text.AsciiEncoding
while($true)
{
## Allow data to buffer for a bit
start-sleep -m 500
## Read all the data available from the stream, writing it to the
## screen when done.
while($stream.DataAvailable)
{
$read = $stream.Read($buffer, 0, 1024)
write-host -n ($encoding.GetString($buffer, 0, $read))
}
## Read the user's command, quitting if they hit ^D
$command = read-host
## Write their command to the remote host
$writer.WriteLine($command)
$writer.Flush()
}
}
finally
{
## Close the streams
$writer.Close()
$stream.Close()
}
The problem is when the server closes the port the client continues to wait. How can I use a buffered read but still check if the port is still open? I dont need to know immediately if the port closes, just after a few minutes.
Thanks in advance for any help.